From a conventional management perspective, it probably sounds like common sense. But to anyone who understands the nature of creativity and what motivates creative people, it's a recipe for disaster.
Rewarding people for hard work is a great thing to do, but it's no guarantee of loyalty - and certainly no guarantee of creativity. And using rewards as an incentive - or even a threat - has been proven not to work when it comes to complex, challenging, creative work.
There is a large body of research evidence - from the work of Harvard Business Professor Theresa Amabile and others - that relying on extrinsic motivations (a.k.a. rewards and punishments) has a negative impact on creativity. While it may seem obvious that the stick has a negative impact on creativity, it's counterintuitive that the carrot has the same effect.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Why You Can't Buy Creativity :: Tips :: The 99 Percent
Author: Mark McGuinness