Ultimatums are often associated with relationships. If one person in a relationship feels they’re not getting what they deserve, they offer an ultimatum to the other. It’s usually along the lines of “change your behavior or I’ll leave”. 

Speaking of which, we also sometimes see ultimatums in the workplace. Leaders often use them as a form of motivation for struggling or underperforming employees. The concept is similar to the example above, only changed slightly to reflect the workplace. Here, the leader will tell employees they need to improve their work or they will be forced to let them go. Typically, we see actual figures or targets set for the employee in question to aim for. 

The thing is…do good leaders use ultimatums? Is this a genuinely viable and recommended form of motivation?