Reward Action, Not Activity: Unlock Any Manager’s Superpower

Why Accomplishment Drives Success

In today’s workplace of in-office and remote working, understanding the distinction between activity and action is crucial for individual and organizational success. While the terms may seem interchangeable, their implications for productivity, motivation, and contribution to organizational culture are profound. Activity refers to the mere act of doing work, often without clear direction or measurable outcomes. In contrast, action involves purposeful efforts that result in tangible progress toward specific goals. Recognizing and rewarding employees based on their action rather than their activity can transform workplace dynamics and drive sustained success.

Defining Activity and Action

To understand the importance of this distinction, consider the definitions of these terms:

• Activity: Involves tasks or busy work that may keep individuals occupied but do not necessarily contribute to meaningful outcomes. Examples include attending meetings without clear objectives, creating unused reports, or engaging in repetitive, non-strategic tasks.
• Action: Refers to deliberate, goal-oriented tasks that contribute to the achievement of a larger objective. These efforts are typically measurable, impactful, and aligned with organizational priorities.

As Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, famously stated, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” Activity may represent efficiency, but action embodies effectiveness. This difference has far-reaching implications for how employees should be managed, recognized, and rewarded.

The Pitfall of Rewarding Activity

Organizations often fall into the trap of rewarding activity instead of action. Employees who appear busy, attend numerous meetings, or produce a high volume of work may receive praise and recognition. However, this approach can be counterproductive for several reasons:

1. Encourages Busyness Over Productivity: Rewarding activity fosters a culture where employees prioritize being visibly busy overachieving meaningful results. This can lead to inefficiencies and wasted resources.
2. Promotes Burnout: Employees who are constantly busy without clear milestone accomplishments may be driven to experience stress and burnout. This negatively impacts their well-being and reduces long-term productivity.
3. Misaligned Priorities: When activity is valued over action, employees may focus on volume low-priority tasks rather than higher quality tasks that do align with organizational goals.
4. Erosion of Trust: Recognizing busy work can undermine trust in leadership, as high-performing employees may feel their high-quality contributions are undervalued.

The Value of Recognizing and Rewarding Action

By contrast, organizations that emphasize action prioritize results over appearances. This approach has numerous benefits for both employees and organizations:

1. Drives Goal Alignment: Rewarding action ensures that employees focus on tasks that directly contribute to organizational objectives. This alignment fosters a sense of purpose and direction.
2. Boosts Engagement: Employees who are recognized for meaningful contributions feel valued and motivated. This increases engagement and job satisfaction.
3. Encourages Innovation: When employees understand that their accomplishments, not their busyness, are rewarded, they are more likely to seek creative solutions and take calculated risks.
4. Enhances Performance Management: Recognizing action provides clear metrics for evaluating performance, enabling leaders to identify high performers and areas for improvement.

Implementing a Culture of Action

Building a culture that prioritizes action over activity requires intentional effort and focused leadership. Here are practical strategies to achieve this:

1. Set SMART Goals and Metrics

To distinguish between activity and action, organizations should establish clear goals and performance metrics. Employees should understand how their tasks contribute to larger objectives. Clear goals should also be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, and Time-Bound). A truly SMART goal will include the three elements of Quantity, Quality, and Pace. For example, Complete 2024 Sales Analysis (Quantity), as approved by accounting (Quality), one region per week for the next 4 weeks (Pace — notice this embeds milestones that can be self-measured rather than stating “at the end of the month”).

2. Communicate the “Why”

Employees need to understand the purpose behind their work. Leaders should communicate how individual contributions support organizational goals, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability. The best leaders focus on the what and the why of what needs to be accomplished, not the how.

3. Recognize and Reward Meaningful Contributions

Recognition programs should focus on achievements rather than effort alone. This could involve celebrating project milestones, rewarding innovative solutions, or acknowledging team collaboration that leads to measurable outcomes. Caution: Good leaders don’t recognize individuals for “diving last-minute catches” if the individual has caused the need for unnecessary urgency.

4. Encourage Reflection and Learning

Encourage employees to reflect on their work and identify what actions were most impactful. This practice fosters a growth mindset and helps employees prioritize future high-value tasks.

5. Develop Leaders to Value Outcomes

Managers play a critical role in shaping workplace culture. Leadership development should emphasize the importance of evaluating outcomes over effort and provide tools for coaching employees toward ownership and action-oriented behavior.

Conclusion

The distinction between activity and action is more than semantics; it is a foundational principle for building effective, motivated teams. By prioritizing action, purposeful, goal-oriented efforts, organizations can achieve greater results, engagement, and innovation. Recognizing and rewarding employees for their accomplishments rather than their busyness is not just a best practice; it is essential for sustainable success in today’s competitive landscape. Leaders who embrace and role-model this approach will foster a culture where every effort contributes to meaningful progress, creating value for employees, organizations, and society.

References

1. Grant, A. M. (2013). The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 251–267.

2. Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717.

3. Drucker, P. F. (2001). The essential Drucker: The best of sixty years of Peter Drucker’s essential writings on management. HarperBusiness.

About the Author

Dr. Kevin Gazzara — is a senior partner and founder of Magna Leadership Solutions, based in Phoenix, Arizona. Kevin is an international speaker and recognized as a Management & Leadership Expert and an Executive Coach. He is the co-author of “The Leader of OZ” www.leaderofoz.com. Kevin has been a professor at 6 Universities, developing and teaching programs to help others achieve their full potential. You can follow Kevin and Magna Leadership Solutions on:

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Thank you,
Dr. Kevin Gazzara
Senior Partner and Certified Positive Intelligence & ICF Coach
Magna Leadership Solutions LLC
Kevin@MagnaLeadership.com or Kevin@CoachSultants.com