Sometimes as Leaders, We Reward the Wrong Thing

You can tell people what matters all day long.

They’re also watching who gets your attention.

Who gets thanked in the meeting? Who gets called dependable? Who gets the better assignment? Who gets away with something because they always seem to save the day?

That’s where people start figuring out what you actually value.

And sometimes, it isn’t what you think you’re teaching.

Think about a baseball practice.

You want players to make good defensive plays. Get in position. Read the ball. Make the catch. Finish the play.

So you decide to recognize an outstanding effort.

Good idea.

But what happens if a player starts making an ordinary catch look difficult because the diving catch gets more attention?

Now you have a different problem.

You wanted better defense. You may be encouraging a performance.

The player who reads the ball early, moves into position, and makes a routine catch might have done the better job. It just wasn’t as dramatic.

Leadership works that way too.

An employee keeps a process running. Checks the details. Notices a problem early and handles it before it affects the customer.

Nothing blows up.

Nobody has to stay late.

There’s no big story to tell at the next meeting.

Then somebody else misses something, scrambles to recover, and works late getting the situation back under control.

Who gets recognized?

Sometimes it’s the person who stayed late.

And listen, getting a problem under control matters. People deserve credit for stepping up when something goes wrong.

But did we ever look at why it went wrong?

Did we notice the person who kept that same problem from happening somewhere else?

Or did we just teach everybody that the way to be seen is to show up in the middle of a crisis?

That’s worth thinking about.

Because people can learn to make their work visible without making the work better.

More emails. More updates. More meetings about everything they’re handling.

Meanwhile, somebody else is quietly doing the job.

They aren’t asking for a parade. But if you consistently overlook them, don’t assume they haven’t noticed.

Now take a look at your own expectations.

You say you want people to think for themselves.

What happens when somebody makes a reasonable decision differently than you would have?

Do you ask what they saw and why they made the call?

Or do you take the decision back and explain how you would’ve handled it?

You say you want honesty.

What happens when somebody brings you information you don’t want to hear?

You say you want teamwork.

Who gets the credit when one person helps somebody else succeed?

Those moments teach people what’s safe, what gets noticed, and what they should do again.

They also teach people what to stop doing.

That’s where awareness matters.

Before you decide your team has an attitude problem, look at the behavior your own attention has been encouraging.

Not just the bonuses or the formal awards.

The everyday stuff.

Who you listen to. Who you interrupt. Whose work you mention. What you tolerate from a strong performer that you wouldn’t accept from anybody else.

That’s leadership too.

And it can be uncomfortable to examine because most of us aren’t trying to reward the wrong thing.

We’re moving fast. We notice what’s right in front of us. A loud problem gets our attention. A quiet success doesn’t ask for it.

But once you recognize that pattern, you have something you can change.

Here’s what I want you to try this week.

Think about the last person you praised at work, at practice, or in whatever group you lead.

What exactly were you recognizing?

A useful result? Good judgment? Honest communication? Preparation?

Or did you mostly notice how hard they appeared to be working?

Then look for somebody whose contribution made things easier without making a lot of noise.

Find out what they did.

Be specific when you recognize it.

Instead of just saying, “Good job,” explain what helped: they caught the mistake before the order went out, gave someone the information they needed, or made a sound decision without waiting for you.

Now you’re giving people something useful to repeat.

And if you discover you’ve been rewarding the wrong behavior, own it. Explain what you want to see instead, then make sure your response matches your words.

That’s Endodyne work. Recognize the signal, filter the noise, and act on what you can see more clearly now.

You don’t need a new award program to start.

You need to pay closer attention to what your attention is teaching.

Are you recognizing the people who make the team better, or just the people who make sure you notice them?