Posts Tagged ‘psychology of rewards’

I am a great believer in rewards.  When I was a permie working for a large software development house (in the awful days before I started my own small company), my staff regularly received rewards from me.  These ranged from simple treats (of the eatable kind) through to extra holidays and pay rises when they did something exceptional.   It’s a philosophy I carry forward today with my small team – and that includes myself.

The psychology of positive reinforcement says that when an accomplishment is rewarded, the part of our subconscious brain which is responsible for driving our efforts seeks to accomplish more to receive other rewards.   The psychology of positive reinforcement is a fairly complex subject and covers why rewards (the pull in the right direction) are far better than stick punishment (a push in the right direction).  An outline is available here.

But in a nutshell, I go out of my way to reward myself when I do something well, or do something to grow my business.  This can range from a simple pat of my own back (yes, I actually do that) for a simple task, through to a major purchase for a big accomplishment.  It can be something small such as an eatable treat (I love Foxes jam cream biscuits) through to some new tech device (I purchased myself a brand new NAS drive for a recent large sale). 

I honestly believe such a reward system boosts an individuals performance.  So why not take 5 minutes to acknowledge your own recent achievements, and give yourself a reward ?