The Big Management Lie: Overpromising

Everyone knows that lying to your team is bad. Only a complete sociopath would argue that lying to your team is a positive, happy activity. But there’s a particular form of lying that many of the most experienced, compassionate, and honorable managers indulge in all the time: overpromising, and in particular overpromising career rewards. When managers are under pressure, and especially when they’re under pressure to retain a high performer, overpromising is one of the most common tools to reach for. The industry is rife with promises that someone will get a promotion, a new role, a large bonus, 5 more days of vacation, or any number of goodies, large or small. Overpromising Doesn’t Work Overpromising carries a terrible risk/reward tradeoff. Here’s how it goes down: If you promise something positive, your team member will be very happy for roughly the next 1-72 hours. If their happiness was a 5/10, perhaps they’ll bump to an 8/10. After those hours, the future promise will begin to…