Discretionary Effort Through R+

Discretionary effort is like loose change in a person’s pocket. It is the management’s job to get them to want to spend it all every day. -Aubrey Daniels

Aubrey Daniels defines discretionary effort in Bringing Out the Best in People as “..the level of effort people could give if they wanted to, but above and beyond the minimum required.” One of the biggest challenges a manager may face is misunderstanding R+. Hearing the term positive reinforcement may make someone immediately think of high-fives, a plaque, applause, and more. But what if it was so much more than that? Remember, R+ is defined as any consequence that increases the frequency of a behavior. Remember the light switch scenario from Newsletter #2? The light turned on when you flipped the switch. So you will continue using that light switch, right? Then it is R+. Positive reinforcement is around us daily without us even realizing it!

In a work environment, we have to create more of those reinforcers. Remember - something is considered R+, if the person receiving it sees it that way. So don’t try to find a positive consequence that will work for all of your staff members. If you have Instructors putting in discretionary effort, the benefits of this extra effort make it worthwhile to treat everyone as individuals with individual R+ tactics. When you reinforce a team as opposed to the individual, you may be unfairly reinforcing someone who did not contribute and in turn neglecting someone who did a majority of the work.

So how do you determine what positive reinforcers will work for who? Typically the best way to do this is to simply try something. Try something you think might work to demonstrate that you value them and their efforts. You can also simply observe. Observe what they spend their time doing when they have a choice.

Think about how, so far, you determined what R+ to deliver to staff. How did you come up with these iDeas? Were they effective? Pick a “good” Instructor that you think will give discretionary effort and try a new R+ tactic with them to see if you see any improvement.