Function-Based Leadership: The Secret Behind Team Behavior

Have you ever wondered why your highly capable team sometimes does things that make absolutely no sense?

As a behavior scientist who works with executives, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: people don't do things for the reasons we think they do. And understanding the real "why" behind behavior is your key to unlocking true leadership effectiveness.

The Myth of "They Should Know Better"

Let me share a quick story. An organization I worked with was struggling with their teams consistently missing documentation deadlines. The CEO's initial response? "They know it's important. They've been trained. They should know better!"

Sound familiar?

Here's the unfamiliar known fact: knowledge rarely drives behavior. The real drivers are functions - the actual purposes that behaviors serve in the environment.

The Four Functions The Drive Everything

In behavior science, we know that all behavior (yes, all) serves one (usually more) of four functions:

1. Getting something we want
2. Escaping or avoiding something we don't want
3. Getting attention
4. Getting sensory feedback

Let's break it down with the documentation example:

Leadership thought they were being careless, lazy and defiant. The actual facts are not completing documentation works because:

• You escape an overwhelming workload
• You get attention (even though it's negative) from leadership
• You get an immediate reward of completing other pressing or more desirable tasks

Understanding how these functions work completely changes the approach. The team doesn't need more training - they need a change of consequences.

Playing Behavior Detective

Here's a simple process I teach executives to uncover behavior functions:

What's happening right before the behavior?

• Time of day
• Workload levels
• Recent changes or announcements

What's happening right after the behavior?

• Immediate consequences
• Team responses
• Leadership reactions

When doesn't the behavior happen? (This one is often more telling than when the behavior does happen!)

Real-World Function Finding

Let's look at a few more common workplace behaviors that their surprising functions:

Behavior: Resistance to new technology

• Assumed function: Stubbornness
• Actual function: Escaping perceived failure or incompetence; escaping additional work and effort necessary to learn new technology

Behavior: Late to meetings

• Assumed function: Disrespect
• Actual function: Getting attention; reward of task completion prior to meeting (which led to being late); attention from others in previous meeting that ran over; escape from telling others to cut it short (negative approval)

Behavior: Not sharing information

• Assumed function: Power play
• Actual function: Escaping perceived vulnerability; escaping reprimands or negative feedback if information is incorrect; escape from time it takes to share when workload is high

The Game-Changing Question

Instead of asking "Why won't they just do what they're supposed to do?" try this: "What function is this behavior serving for my team?"

Making Function-Based Leadership Work

Here's how to put this into practice:

Observe Without Judgment: Drop the "should" and just watch what's happening

Ask Better Questions:

• "What's making this behavior work?"
• "What's making the desired behavior difficult?"
• "What's reinforcing the current pattern?"

Match Solutions to Functions: If people are escaping overwhelm, adding more training won't help. You need to address the overwhelm.

A Leadership Game-Changer

One executive I worked with had that "aha" moment when she realized her team's resistance to data collection wasn't about defiance or not caring - it was about escaping perceived criticism. Once she understood this function, she transformed her approach.

Prior to identifying function: more and more training; stern reminders about collecting data

After identifying function: provided praise for completion of data collection; charting the completion of data collection so the team can see progress

The result? Data compliance went from 43% to 87% in three months (the goal was 85%).

Your Turn: Function Finding

Ready to try this approach? Start with one challenging team behavior:

1. What's happening before it?
2. What follows it?
3. What function might it serve?
4. How could you address that function differently?

Want to Dig Deeper?

Understanding behavior functions is just one piece of the leadership effectiveness puzzle. Are you ready to discover more science-based leadership strategies? Make sure you sign up for this newsletter if you haven't already.

Then take our Kindness Quotient Leadership Assessment for a comprehensive analysis of your leadership approach.

And remember this: Behind every puzzling behavior is a function that makes perfect sense - once you know how to look for it!