Appreciating Problems
A recent trend in psychology is accentuating the positive, as opposed to only focusing on the negative. In clinical psychology this translated to a focus on optimism. In organizational psychology it's emerged as Appreciative Inquiry (AI). The thinking behind AI is that organizational life can be improved by focusing on what's good in the company/group and replicating the actions that led to success rather than addressing those problem areas or issues directly.
There is something to be said for taking a positive approach to addressing organizational issues. It tends to make people more open to what you are trying to achieve and less defensive. It is also a confidence builder when you can show individuals or a team where they have been successful and learn some lessons from that to solve a problem.
The flip-side is that AI can be hopelessly naïve. For instance, if a company is having a high executive turnover rate because the CEO is a tyrant, focusing on why some executives stay (as AI would suggest) is not going to solve the root cause of the problem. Rather, it encourages the organization to succeed in spite of itself, and reinforces the CEO's behavior.
From delving into AI and talking to its practitioners, it also becomes clear that there is no research that demonstrates that it is any more effective than other organizational (although, it is not as if that is a particular strength of most practioners in the field). But, its core message is a good one: Problems may be more easily and effectively solved if we first focus on what is working before looking at what is not.
If you have questions about making positive changes in your organization, please contact Warren Bobrow.
Speaking of Praise...
Why do we keep talking about praise? Because we hear over and over that employees aren’t getting enough of it. When it comes to effective management skills, praise it a key tool for getting positive results. Two common mistakes often interfere with using praise correctly: 1) mixing it with criticism and 2) being vague. Here’s why those are ineffective:
As a supervisor, you’re often coached to “sandwich” some bad news between the good news. While in some cases it helps the bad news go down better, it cheapens the praise and makes it seem insincere. Don’t be fooled into thinking that poor praise is better than none. If the recipient doesn’t value the information, its power to encourage more good behavior is lost and may create distrust.
Well-intentioned managers may throw “thank yous” around in abundance to show their teams that their efforts are appreciated. While we don’t want to discourage that sentiment, it’s important to make the praise as specific as possible. Again, remember the purpose of positive reinforcement is to encourage the positive, desired behavior. When you make global, vague statements such as “Thanks for your hard work” the receiver doesn’t know what part of their behavior you appreciated. Compare that with: “Thanks for working with IT to clarify the end-user needs and make suggestions on some key training points. Your insight was really helpful.” That level of precision lets the receivers know that you are aware of their efforts and the impact they made on the team or project. That’s the kind of appreciation we’d all like to hear.
If you have questions about improving the performance management, coaching skills, morale or teamwork in your organization or team, please contact Kammy Haynes.
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