Status

Status is about relative importance, “pecking order” and seniority.  Think about a time when you’ve met someone you really admire and look up to.  You may have built them up in your mind.  When you meet them you may experience being tongue tied, not knowing what to say.  Your brain shuts down a bit.  This is what happens when your perceived status is lowered, a threat to your status.

It can be easy to accidentally threaten someone’s sense of status.  It can occur when giving someone advice or instructions, or simply suggesting someone is slightly ineffective at a task.  Sometimes these conversations can become arguments which is a result of the desire not to be perceived as less than another.  You may simply want to assist and help; however, you’re actually triggering a status threat.

Individuals who are driven by status are naturally competitive.  They hate coming in second.  If status rates high in your life, you might need to watch your natural competitive spirit. You might find yourself continuing the argument simply for the sake of winning. Or you might easily be bored if the challenge is missing. You might need to remember to “just be.”

As a manager, keep in mind performance reviews often generate status threats and may be ineffective at stimulating behavioral change.  If you want to change behavior, pay attention to reducing status threats when giving feedback.  Allow others to give themselves feedback on their own performance.

Often organizations use a status reward in the form of a promotion.  Promotions can be great; however there are limits in your organization.  Sometimes people get promoted to the point of their incompetence.  There are other ways to increase status in more sustainable ways.  People feel a status increase when they feel they are learning and improving and when attention is paid to this improvement.

Status can also go up when people are given positive feedback, especially in public.  Some managers may be concerned about praising people for fear they will request a promotion.  Giving positive feedback may actually reduce the need for constant promotions, not increase it.

Whether you are a supervisor, manager, Vice President or CEO, it’s important to remember that your title and relative position in the hierarchy can trigger a status threat in others.  Understand the more you leverage your status around others, the less others will be able to think creatively and productively.  When working with your team, allowing others to take the lead in discussions, not sitting at the head of the table, letting  others’ opinions and input flow, can foster analytic thinking, creative insight, and problem solving.

Can you think of any co-workers who may be driven by status?  How does the information above help you work more effectively with them?  What has worked for you?  Leave your comments below.

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