Wrapping up a coaching session recently, the leader shared how they had gained awareness into some of their well-intentioned but ineffective behaviours.

She had been irritated by her team’s lack of initiative and team members’ tendency to wait for several reminders before getting to work.

On reflection, she realized that her behaviour had triggered this.

Conscious of meeting deadlines, she had taken to reminding team members of their projects and commitments.

The outcome? The team waited to be reminded before they developed a sense of urgency and got to work.

This reminded me of Pavlov – but with a twist.

Ivan Pavlov was a Nobel Prize winning physiologist, whose experiments with dogs laid the groundwork for classical conditioning.

His most famous work involved dogs. He noticed that dogs salivated just by seeing the lab assistants who fed them. His experiment involved ringing a bell before giving the dogs food. Over time, the dogs became conditioned – ‘’trained’’ – to salivate just by hearing the bell.

As I said, in the case of the leader, this is a Non-Pavlovian Trap.

She didn’t intentionally adopt the behaviour – or create the conditions for the reaction.

She fell into patterns of behaviour that the team adapted to. The irony being, she wanted the team to display the compete opposite behaviour.

What Unintentional Traps Do You Fall Into?

Which are the well-meaning behaviours you adopt, which cause your team to underperform? Perhaps five of the more frequent include:

Doing the Team’s Work

The Trap: You step in, just to ‘’get it done’’ when deadlines are tight.

Result: The team learn that when pressure mounts, you will rescue them. The team fail to develop ownership and a sense of urgency.

Rewarding Firefighting Over Planning

The Trap: Praising heroic last-minute saves.

Result: The team stops prioritizing good planning and allows issues to escalate, knowing that last minute heroics will be recognized more than delivering the project on time and without drama.

Solving Every Problem Ever Brought to You

The Trap: Always having an answer whenever a team member approaches with a problem.

Result: Teams leave the heavy thinking to you and stop generating solutions and thinking independently.

Always Being Available

The Trap: Responding instantly to messages at all hours or always having an open-door policy.

Result: The team fails to build self-reliance and always expect instant guidance or validation.

Publicly Using a Team Member’s Error as an Example

The Trap: Sharing a mistake made by a team member without clearing this beforehand – even without naming them.

Result: A team member who distrusts you and stops taking initiative out of fear of being publicly humiliated

Avoiding a Non-Pavlovian Trap

If your behaviours aren’t having the intended consequences, maybe it’s time to reflect a little more deeply on the effect of your actions.

What does your team really need from you to feel equipped, empowered and excited to deliver the results you’re seeking?

And can you modify your behaviour accordingly?

Prepare yourself, traps aren’t easy to get out of – neither for you nor your team.