If you have reached management level in the corporate world, you might have noticed that broadly speaking there are two types of leaders. We can loosely split them up into leaders who are stricter, and leaders who take a more open, friendly style approach.
That doesn’t mean a leader can’t be a mixture of the two, but in general, most leaders in the corporate world have climbed the ranks with an understanding of how to be ‘nice’ or ‘nasty’. In this blog, we take a look at the benefits of each approach – ‘the stick’ and ‘the carrot’ – and consider which characteristics are needed for these leadership styles to work.
The stick
For a leader to be effective with the stick approach, they must be firm but fair. It is all very well running a very tight ship, but it is imperative that employees are still congratulated on their successes, and rewarded when they do well. Being able to have these ‘two sides’ is vital, and may actually motivate employees to greater achievements, as they want to bring out ‘the good side’ in their boss.
The leader who takes the stick approach must be absolutely sure that they lead by example at all times. If they hold their team to exacting standards, they should be meeting those same standards; day in, day out. This type of leader must also know the personalities of their team inside out. They should be able to spot a team member that reacts well to being continually challenged, and similarly, individuals who need a ‘softly softly’ approach every now and then.
The carrot
For leaders taking the carrot approach, it is all about the feel-good factor. They can get results by adopting a relaxed demeanour and making sure that the workplace which they manage is all about fun and friendliness. This can engender more employee satisfaction, and in turn, lead to business success. This kind of boss is a confidence giver, reminding employees of their strengths, and their achievements.
But the carrot approach comes with a caveat. Things mustn’t get too relaxed as productivity risks dropping, and this type of leader should be wary of being seen as an ‘easy touch’. So they must possess the ability to lay down the law when it is required. For the carrot leader, being stern is not typical behaviour, so when they do decide to ‘get serious’, it can have all the more impact.
Carrot and stick approach examples
Carrot
- Providing staff with a catered lunch as a reward for achieving a set sales goal
- Offering a bonus or gift card to the top-performing employee
- Rewarding a hard-working employee with a promotion
- “Safety bonuses” to employees that follow safe work practices
- Recognition for employee of the month
Stick
- Reducing a benefits package depending on employee performance
- Having the employee with the lowest output be responsible for emptying the dishwasher for 2 weeks
- A demotion after poor performance
- Implementing a policy where employees would have to work weekends if a project was not completed within a certain time frame
These are just some of the ways in which these leadership styles can be implemented in the workplace. Both the carrot and stick approaches can be effective leadership styles, so long as they are well rounded.
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