Every Thursday, we provide you with a thoughtful way to coach yourself – something all leaders need to do. So take five and enjoy the inspirational quotes and reflect on the questions that follow. Your comments and answers to the questions are most welcome!
“Catch someone doing something right.” ~Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
- How will you become more aware of catching others doing something right?
- When was the last time you told your followers they were doing the right thing? When will you tell them again?
Good morning! I love bringing awareness to myself and others. Its the first step in unlearning bad behaviors! I think that to bring awareness I need to take the time to observe the people I supervise. Too often people get caught up in daily activities and forget to interact with others. This is where you will “catch someone doing something right”.
Amanda, yes – glad to see that you are interested in becoming more aware of others!
I recently have hired an employee that is a great woman, smart and funny, but in general seems to be haunted by low self-esteem. She has developed an over dependent relationship on one of the other team members and constantly asks her to review her work product, because she is so afraid of making mistakes.
A friend that is an HR Consultant reminded me that sometimes the best way to manage someone with a low self-esteem is to go overboard with the praise for a while. I started out by telling her that I do value mistakes as a learning tool and that I expect her to make mistakes at this point in her training. Since then I have been giving her a constant barrage of atta-boys. In turn, I realized that I probably have not been giving enough praise for the hard work the rest of the team. It seems at this point to be having some dramatic results with the original employee I was trying to effect and the entire team.
It’s definitely a great habit to get into. I actually have a small sticky with a checklist of 3 times a day I find something to reward or praise with my team.
Jenn, what a great story. I hear from employees all that time that praise for a job well done is sorely absent in our organizations. Congratulations on finding a way that works for you and your team.