Positive Principles Newsletter
April 2006
____________________________________________
“Positive reinforcement generates more behavior than is minimally required.
We call this discretionary effort, and its presence in the workplace
is the only way an organization can maximize performance.”
- Aubrey Daniels, Bringing Out the Best in People
“To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others, use your heart.”
- John Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
___________________________________________
This month's tip – Praise matters. Give four
“atta-boys” for every one “gotcha.”
Some of my clients are already in leadership roles. They want to become
better leaders or to improve their team environment. Some are not yet
leaders. They want to develop leadership skills in preparation for
advancement. A few weeks ago, one of the people I work with in this latter
category had an experience that very nearly destroyed a good working
relationship. All leaders and prospective leaders can learn from this
person’s experience
The person I coach works hard, gives their
energy, and devotes extra time to make a positive contribution in their
organization. Like most people, they are imperfect. They contribute far more
positive than negative to their team. Still, they found themselves on the
receiving end of a disciplinary discussion. Every story has two sides, and
this one is no exception. The supervisor had a valid point, but it became
far more negative than necessary because of the way they handled it. I will
share the employee’s side of the issue and how that perspective impacts team
performance.
Aubrey Daniels, a highly respected behavioral analyst and author, states
that high-level team and individual performance only comes as the result of
positive reinforcement (praise, rewards, time-off, etc). Anything negative
(punishment, penalty, criticism, correction, etc) will only create “minimal
effort.” The reasoning and data to support this statement lies beyond the
scope of this newsletter. You can read more on the topic in Bringing Out
the Best in People by Aubrey Daniels or Whale Done by Ken
Blanchard.
For the purposes of this article, I’ll focus on one issue. Aubrey Daniels
calls it the 4:1 Rule. Simply put, the rule states that people need to
receive at least four positive inputs on their behavior for every one
negative input – if they are going to respond to the positive and give
“maximal effort.” Previously, I have written on the dual need for leaders to
both Confront Negative
Behaviors and to
Create Hope.
My previous articles hit on both sides of this issue. With this article, I
hope to tie the two sides together.
Few, if any, leaders will move through their careers without discussing
negative performance issues with team members. Unfortunately, leaders often
fail when they confront negative issues in a formal and threatening manner
and then do nothing meaningful to recognize positive contributions. I
understand how leaders fall into this trap. I see it in many places: parents
with children, teachers with students, and supervisors with employees. The
problem takes on different forms in different organizations. Regardless of
the environment, though, it still comes down to the same root problem – most
of us find it easier to notice what people do wrong than we do to notice
what they do right.
Now, let’s get back to the person mentioned above. They are committed and
dedicated. They work hard. They produce results. Still, they had one
negative behavior trait – a trait they were already working to improve. The
first time the supervisor mentioned the behavior, they chose to
comment formally. When this supervisor mentions positive contributions, they
do so casually, informally, and infrequently. The net effect is this: the
employee feels devalued. As a result, the employee, a person who naturally
enjoys contributing new ideas and looking for opportunities to help, acts
more cautiously and reservedly in their work environment. In this case, the
supervisor has “motivated” the employee to invest only enough effort to
avoid trouble and confrontation. The employee’s desire to make a major
positive contribution is, at least temporarily, softened and muted.
I recognize the necessity of formal disciplinary processes. However, I do
not recommend, except in extreme situations, that leaders implement them at
the first sign of a problem. I do recommend starting with performance
coaching and informal discussion to help the employee see the
problem in their behavior. If the behavior is extreme, or if coaching
efforts fail to improve performance; then, leaders should apply more formal
approaches (official verbal reprimand, written reprimand, etc.). Formal
approaches tend to feel very negative. When leaders resort to formal
approaches too soon, they have to work doubly hard to overcome these
negative feelings to get back on a positive relationship basis.
Leaders must confront negative behaviors, and they must also create hope.
They should confront negative behavior quickly But, they need to find ways
to praise and reward positive behaviors as well. Ideally, they will offer
at least four positive comments for every one that is negative. Highly
effective leaders consciously work to provide at least four times as many
positives as negatives.
So for now, I encourage you to remember this month's tip . . .
Praise matters. Give four “atta-boys” for every one
“gotcha.”
Have a great day,
Guy Harris
The Recovering Engineer
