The article analysis the need for leaders and managers to understand human behavior so as to influence other people to adopt behavior that matches the organizations’ objectives. Managers and leaders should understand the underlying factors as to human beings behave differently even when presented with similar situations. Managers should, therefore, understand the various characteristics that influence behavior of other people. However, the leader should be aware of the individual differences in these characteristics so as to positively influence individuals to acquire the desired behavior (Clawson, 2001).
The type of care an individual receives in the early stages of life greatly influences the behavior of the individual either positively or negatively. For instance, if an individual do not get proper attention during the early stages of life they may feel that no one loves and cares about them. This could negatively affect the individual emotionally later in life such that they may be withdrawn or seek ways of getting the love and comfort they did not get during the early stages of life. They're efforts to compensate for the insufficient attention experienced at early stages; they tend to keep the attention spotlight on themselves. Cultural values are others factor that may influence human behavior. Subsequently this leads to similarities as well as dissimilarities in the behavior of people based on cultures and subcultures. For instance, people from a particular country or region may behave in a similar way. Knowledge on behavioral differences between people based on their culture or subculture would be helpful to a leader. For instance, knowledge of similarities and dissimilarities in peoples’ behavior enables a manager to invent ways of motivating employees for better performance especially when venturing into new areas of operation (Daniels et al., 2000).
Motivation is another factor that influences human behavior. Effective managers should understand what motivates each of their employees in order to influence them effectively towards achieving the company’s objective. For instance, some individuals are motivated by rewards towards better performance. However, the rewards vary from one individual to the other. For example, one individual may value monetary rewards while another could value praise and appreciation (Daniels et al., 2000). Thus, a manager should be aware of the individual differences in motivational factors. Therefore, managers should reward individuals with the rewards that they value to so as to effectively influence them positively. Values, Assumptions, Beliefs and Expectations (VABEs) are some of the other factors that influence human behavior. VABEs can be defined as believes an individual holds on how other people ought to behave. Therefore, a leader should not make assumptions regarding other people based on VABEs since it may result to incorrect judgments. For instance, a manager may assume that an interviewee who has vocal fry is incompetent based on their VABEs. Thus, it is important for leaders to understand how VABEs influence human behavior for effective leadership. Genetic factors also influence human behavior either positively or negatively. An effective leader should be able to distinguish between the genetic and behavioral factors so as to positively influence people. Hence, managers should also understand the interplay between these factors so as to influence others positively to meet the desired objectives (Clawson, 2001).
The information I have acquired shall enable me to influence employees as per the organization’s objectives in the future. Additionally this information shall enable me to enlighten leaders on how to influence others in the desired way.
Works cited
Clawson, James G. "A leader's guide to why people behave the way they do." (2001).
Daniels, Aubrey C., Don Tapscott, and Art Caston. Bringing out the best in people. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
