Agile Uprising Podcast Punished by Rewards with Alfie Kohn
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Feb 18, 2024 
Alfie Kohn, author of Punished by Rewards, discusses how rewards can backfire, how praise may not motivate, and the importance of intrinsic motivation. They explore the impact of rewards in work environments, dangers of extrinsic motivation, and empowering teams for success.
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Rewards Are Sugar-Coded Control
- Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same control-based coin that force obedience rather than invite collaboration.
- Alfie Kohn argues both approaches use power over people and are fundamentally limiting and dehumanizing, not genuine motivation.
Top Bonus Then Quit From Stacked Ranking
- Jay Hrcsko described getting a top stacked-ranking bonus and then quitting because year-to-year fairness made future top awards impossible.
- The artificial scarcity of awards (stacked ranking) demotivated him despite consistent effort.
Awards Become Toxic When Made Scarce
- An award is worse than a reward when it is made artificially scarce because it adds competitive harm on top of manipulation.
- Kohn explains competition creates losers and corrodes relationships even when everyone performs well.