Get the Best Out of Your Team

Your “hardest workers” might also be your biggest problem. To measure success properly, use the playbook.

- DAVE KLINE

ARE YOU REWARDING the right people on your team? You may not be. Consider these two scenarios:

SCENARIO #1/ Your star employee works 60-hour weeks, responds to emails at midnight, and never misses a meeting. You love their hustle. But their projects consistently miss deadlines, and their deliverables fall short.

SCENARIO #2/ Your top salesperson consistently lands giant contracts and beats targets by 150%—but only works 30 hours a week. You often wonder why they aren’t working harder.

NOW, THE QUESTION: Which one do you reward?

Most leaders still equate “value” with “time spent on the job”—even though workers can deliver incredible value in infinite ways. To build a thriving team, we must shift from time-based to outcome-based thinking. Because effort without results is just expensive activity.

I help corporate leaders do this through my company, MGMT Accelerator. Here’s the playbook we use.

1/ What to reward people for

THE "EARLY BIRD" PRAISE

→ Stop celebrating who gets to the office first.

→ Start celebrating who solves problems fastest.

THE "ALWAYS AVAILABLE" REWARD

→ Stop promoting people who answer emails at midnight.

→ Start promoting people who prevent midnight emergencies.

THE "MEETING CHAMPION" RECOGNITION

→ Stop praising perfect meeting attendance.