Shaping Behavior

Learning' Shaping of Behavior

When working with a team, it's crucial to understand how each individual behaves and acts so that a leader can effectively manage his or her team. During the process of learning each member’s behavior, one must also watch how it is to be changed. People react differently to criticism, negativity, and punishment; therefore a manager must be able to shape the behavior of the individuals to improve performance for the team. Shaping behavior is not to change someone's personality or to change who they are, but rather to change the way a situation is behind handled, or acted upon. At the beginning of the school year, we were all brand new to each other. We were unaware of each other's work ethic and of how we would work together as a team, but we were collectively very ambitious to do well in the class and go above and beyond expectations set by the professor. Right off the bat, Brendan sent an email out asking for students who were willing to work and put forth equal effort so that we could all overachieve and get the highest possible grade. Clearly our dedicated and ambition comes from the fact that we all responded to his email and agreed to succeed. For example, not only did we set the precedent for the quiz template, but we also had it ready a week before the rest of the class. Being the first team to have a template ready proved that we were willing to take this class seriously. Preparation is a key attribute in our team’s success and is clearly present in each member’s personality. As the weeks progressed, a member of the team began to miss classes, we began to come to class unprepared for quizzes, and work was being turned in late or half par.