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ed with a particular employee. Don t embarrass the person or
make the other teammembers jealous, but do it in a way that shows
how this contributes to the overall success of the team and
department. For example, an important customer who normally is hard
to please gave a compliment to a particular individual. This good
news should be shared. You should also periodically share good news
with the senior management team. It s a win/win situation because
it also makes you lookgood as the manager of the individual. *Note:
If there are any negative comments about an individual, you should
never broadcast that information to other employees. This should be
a one-on-one conversation with the individual only.
6. Create a storyboard on the wall to show motivational
achievements. Every time you get a customer compliment, one
employee recognizes another for extraordinary work, or an
exceptional task was completed, you should document and post it on
a Celebration Wall. It does not have to be elaborate and will cost
next to nothing. Document the achievement with the employee s name,
or team effort, in big print and pin it to the wall. Continue doing
this and before you know it, your wall will be filled with
inspirational comments. The more stories that are posted, the more
people will want to be included in the storyboard. If you run out
of room, continue it on another wall. There does not need to be any
big fanfare, just a posting on the wall. You should, however, have
already given a personal note of gratitude to the individual or
team as well.
7. Recognize and praise quickly. It you wait too long to tell
someone about a recognizable event, it will lose its effectiveness.
It can also create a certain anxiety, as the employee would have
thought up to that time, that you didnot notice the exceptional
work.
8. Give Praise, recognition and positive feedback on what means
the most to the individual and team. Be sure to praise correctly.
Praising a job well done on a specific skill or true attained goal
is meaningful. Generically praising for praising sake, especially
if you are missing the important point, looks bad
on you and you will lose respect. For example, a technician
troubleshot and fixed a very difficult repair. Instead of focusing
on the technician s excellent troubleshooting skills, your praise
was related to a lack of typing mistakes. Sure that s important,
but it missed the true mark. This is why it is important to fully
understand just what it is that your employees do related to their
job functions. Using the example above, if you do not realize how
difficult the troubleshooting was done to fix the problem, the
technician will be demoralized thinking you do not realize just how
good they are and how hard it was to truly resolve the issue.
9. Admiration of a person s skill is a show of respect and
recognition. Some
times the most important way to recognize good work is to be in
true awe of an employee s performance. This can be based on their
skills, knowledge, attitude, etc. True respect for the team or
individual is truly meaningful.
10. Go into detail regarding the recognition. Follow up the
"thank you" with more in depth comments about the good deed done.
It will show you truly mean itand understand the positive impact
that was made.
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11. Write a letter, forward the e-mail, or write the e-mail
yourself. Proof of a written compliment is very powerful. You can
cc the team and if desired, upper management. Simple, but effective
and so easy to do.
12. Have someone in upper management take the time to
acknowledge the individual or team. Ask your boss or someone else
in senior management to personally thank the individual or team.
This simple gesture goes a long way. It also makesupper management
feel good about what they are doing, and makes you look good for
suggesting it. Another win/win situation.
Points to keep in mind:
The effect of giving praise is a very powerful and productive
tool. The individua
l or team not only feels better about themselves, but will most
likely think, I can do it even better. So chances are their
performance will improve to an even higher standard. Studies show
that positive feedback releases the chemical Dopamine which is a
stimulant of excitement. Interestingly enough, you will also
feelmore positive about yourself.
Don t start with praising, and end with a lecture. If you
approach someone or theteam with the intention to praise, don t
then turn it in to a time to focus on the negative. It s like a
child who is proud about getting an A on their report card,but you
then quickly focus on the C . There is a time and place to talk
about the C but not at that moment.
Praise when praise is truly due. The team or individual needs to
earn praise, not just get it because they all showed up to work on
time or just doing normal daily tasks. If you praise for the
expected things, it will lose effect on the exceptional things.
LESSON 3 - HOW TO MANAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES AND BUILD A STRONG
TEAM
