Management MythBusters - challenging conventional wisdom

When it comes to management, there’s an abundance of “best practices” that people swear by. But what happens when conventional wisdom does not translate to real-world results? In this article, I’ll attempt to look at some common leadership practices that I have found they don’t always work as expected.

Myth 1 - Mandatory fun (especially for remote teams)

Especially in the recent years, we’ve all heard about how important it is for remote teams to have frequent virtual team-building activities to maintain morale and spirit.

In reality, the effectiveness of this approach is highly dependent on the individual team. For example, I currently manage on-site a team of smart and dedicated professionals who see their role for what it is - a job, not an extended family reunion. For them, frequent “forced” games and activities would be more of an unnecessary distraction. We meet once a quarter for lunch and might have a virtual happy hour from time to time. We use our dedicated Slack room daily for non-work banter and have our own internal jokes. This works splendidly for us, the team members collaborate well and help each other whenever needed.

The lesson here is that forced fun isn’t always fun. It’s about knowing your team and responding to their unique preferences.

Myth 2 - Hold on to your top talent, no matter what

Conventional wisdom dictates that you should never help your most talented individuals find opportunities outside your company. But what if an employee has outgrown their role and, because of various constraints, there’s no way to promote them or provide other internal opportunities?

This is where most best practices fail short. If you keep this team member stuck, they may become disengaged and lose motivation, which can negatively impact their performance. So, the better approach may be to support them in finding new opportunities, even if outside the organization.

The lesson here is that your honesty, transparency, and willingness to help will ensure they’re successful and performance for the remainder of their tenure.

Myth 3 - Non-financial rewards triumph

We’ve all heard the narrative that people are more motivated by non-financial rewards in the long term. However, context and individual differences are critical.

A $500 spot-bonus might be a drop in the ocean for someone making a six-figure salary. But for an employee making $35000 per year, this could be a very well-received incentive.

The lesson here is to be adaptable with your reward system, taking into account the individual and their circumstances. Inceptives should always make the recipient feel valued, whether it’s financial, public recognition, or additional time off.

Management is not a one-size-fits-all field. Every team is unique and every individual is different. An important aspect to being an effective leadership strategies is to stay flexible, adaptable, and open to breaking away from conventional best practices.