2nd November 2010
Behaviour Management and People Management
`Behaviour is the mirror in which everyone shows their image'
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
If you think carefully, we are hired and paid to produce some outcome. If you are a teacher, you are expected to teach so well that the student scores high mark. If you are a manager in a factory you are expected to ensure that there is good quality production at a reasonable cost. For that matter, if you are a housewife, you are expected to raise children who are disciplined and obedient. If we cannot produce this end result, we are a waste and we will be termed as inefficient and ineffective.
The reason for the expected outcome not taking place is the fact that the expected behaviour is not taking place with reference to the people concerned. For example if the child is not doing the homework, he will not do well in the exam; if the workman is not turning up for work, he will not be producing; if the student is not attentive in the classroom, he will not be able to absorb what is taught and hence will not be able to pass the exam.
When such deviations are noticed in a person, our natural reaction is to deal with the behaviour which is external. But we need to look beyond the behaviour and ask `why is this person behaving this way?'. We have to shift from `what is he doing' to `why is he doing what he is doing?. This is the difference between behaviour management and people management.
Behaviour management is easy and we can bring about a change in the behaviour through reward and punishment. But such a change will be very temporary. People management is difficult and time consuming, but will result in a lasting change. It is a pleasant experience to manage people, but it will be painful and irritable to manage behaviour.
We have to spend at least about one hour per day in trying to understand people related issues such as feelings, attitude, values etc. What is the use if you have a computer but don't have any basic knowledge of how to use the software loaded on the computer?
N C Sridharan
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