Can a social media challenge with a car as the prize be serious leadership work? Behind the much-discussed campaign run by the Stankovic dental practice in Hanover lies a clear philosophy of staff management. In the Queens & Sons of Dentistry podcast, practice owner Dr Nebo Stankovic explains why he consistently rewards performance, how he measures it and why length of service alone is not, for him, a criterion for higher pay.
Performance as the yardstick
Dr Stankovic states his principle plainly: performance should always be assessed – good as well as bad. It is not enough simply to be present, to cut a certain figure or to hold titles. By definition, performance is work per unit of time – and that is precisely what makes it measurable. What he liked about his trainee's follower challenge was therefore its clear structure: a defined period, a defined amount of work to be achieved. This makes it possible to observe what works and what does not. And anyone who achieves in a short time what he himself has not managed over years – this being his justification for the prize on offer – deserves a reward.
He also points out that nowadays neither caste nor class nor noble birth determines success – performance counts. To the objection that this creates pressure in many places and that people suffer as a result, he responds with a counter-question: how else should it be measured? Performance is fair, and the result shows what added value someone brings – and remuneration can follow from that.
Pay follows added value, not length of service
At the heart of his entrepreneurial stance is a simple idea: an employment relationship is agreed for a particular scope of work, and the person is paid fairly for it. Anyone who wants more cannot, in his view, justify that on the basis of a certain length of service alone. Anyone who, by contrast, delivers more and offers more than was originally discussed, who grows and brings additional value, has reached the point at which it can be said – or must be said – that they also deserve more. Remuneration does not necessarily have to be financial; other models of reward can be discussed as well. The car in the challenge is merely the most prominent example: Dr Stankovic mentions that an outstandingly performing member of staff had already received a car in the past.
A historical reference: meritocracy instead of hereditary succession
By way of illustration, the practice owner reaches far back into history – as far as Genghis Khan. He came from humble circumstances, not from a royal family, and was the first in documented history to set aside family thinking and blood ties and reward performance instead. Anyone who performed well could rise under him – even if they came from a people that had previously been an enemy. This is how the largest empire in world history came into being. In dentistry, things are of course far friendlier today, Dr Stankovic emphasises – but in terms of the basic principle, this is exactly the idea he pursues as an entrepreneur.
Knowing motivation, defining goals together
For a reward to work, it has to match what actually drives employees. Dr Stankovic describes it as important for him to know what motivates each individual member of staff – only then can a shared objective be defined. In the case of his trainee Sarah it was a BMW 1 Series with attractive interior lighting. At the same time, he takes care that the additional task does not become a burden: social media is not her core task, it is meant to be fun and to create added value for both sides – reach for the practice, a tangible reward for the employee.
Motivation is not discipline
One nuanced observation concerns the difference between initial enthusiasm and staying power: motivation is one thing, discipline something else again – that is where results have to be delivered, as he knows from his own experience. The car that has already been ordered will therefore only be handed over if the performance is sustained; staying the course is the greater challenge. Sarah confirms this assessment from the employee's perspective: it is hard to have to deliver something every day that she herself is satisfied with – she really does have to work on herself as well.
Team culture without envy
That leaves the question of how a team of 35 staff across two locations reacts when a trainee is publicly promised a car. According to the accounts given in the podcast, the feedback was almost exclusively positive: colleagues support Sarah, comment approvingly and help when she needs help. Envy is not an issue – not least because the principle applies to everyone: anyone who gives the company more than expected has the same opportunity; nobody has complained so far. That is precisely the point of this leadership philosophy: the spectacular prize is not a special case but the visible tip of a system that rewards exceptional commitment as a matter of principle.