The Hidden Jeopardy of Expected Rewards

Most of the time, the kinds of rewards given in organizations and teams are expected. Or calculated. They are supposed to happen.

When people do quality work, they expect someone to say, “Great job.” When we help a colleague move from one office to another, carrying dirty boxes all day, we might expect a “Thank you,” a card, or bottle of wine. 

To motivate people, organizations commonly offer such rewards as workplace flexibility, service awards, access to exclusive parking, incentive compensation, time off, invitational learning experiences, and a myriad of similar inducements. Over time, all become expected. They are supposed to occur and don’t happen randomly. 

In fact, any time a leader or organization repeats a reward two times or more, it becomes an expected or calculated reward. So, the majority of rewards any organization offers are expected rewards. 

Expected rewards do, in fact, motivate team members, but for a very short period of time. Their impact decays rather quickly. This is true even for compensation-related rewards, which generally influence behavior for days, not weeks or months. 

But the biggest problem with expected rewards is not about their long-term influence, but rather the impact they have when they don’t occur. The only time an expected reward really matters over time is when it doesn’t happen. Then, it is remembered forever. 

Expected rewards that don’t occur carry a deep symbolic meaning to people. When something expected fails to materialize, we become hugely disappointed. The absence of an expected reward suggests we have been forgotten, perhaps because we are not important. 

This applies to personal life, as well. The only time a birthday or holiday gift is remembered over time is when it doesn’t happen. Then, the meaning that someone forgot or decided not to send a gift becomes symbolic as to how important we truly are. 

Expected and calculated rewards are a curse, and good leaders do their best not to create them when they don’t have to. The key is to remember not to repeat a reward, no matter its popularity, twice in a row. Once a reward is repeated, it becomes expected and loses much of its motivational value. Of course, the more a reward is repeated, the more expected it becomes. 

This doesn’t mean an impactful reward or incentive can’t be duplicated. Just not in succession. The best leaders mix rewards, trying hard not to replicate any incentive in a repeated sequence. This prevents rewards from becoming expected, thereby losing most, if not all, of their impact. 

Expected or calculated rewards are the enemy of great leadership. The idea is not to create them in the first place.