So much of leadership and influence involves motivating people to do the things that are useful in achieving the results you want to see.
While you may not think this analogy about dogs is relevant, stick with me for a moment.
National Dog Day was in Late August. And for those of you who’ve ever house trained a dog, you’ll get this. You know it is futile to punish a dog for “doing it” in the house without showing that pup what to do instead, right? If you do that the poor dog will only learn to try to “hold it in” which we know is impossible. Instead, give them the alternative. The quickest way to get them to understand where to do their doody is to take them outside and praise them when they do it.
It all goes back to the Ken Blanchard “catch them doing it right” challenge.
This principle really works. I’m sure that you can think of times when it has worked for you.
The challenge is to do it. We’ve all been in those situations when we are so slammed that all we can muster is the time to address the squeaky wheel – the thing that is NOT being done well, the miss, the mistake, the violation. And sure these need to be addressed, but if that is all you do, you run the risk of entering a downward spiral whne all you do is correct missteps. This kind of environment can become negative, and you can be seen a a negative leader.
The spiral can be reversed, and it starts with focusing on catching people doing things right.
Rewarding the behavior you want to see promotes MORE of that behavior. Publicly rewarding that behavior lets OTHERS know what behaviors you want to see.
I like to suggest that managers and leaders strive for a 2:1 ratio of positive reinforcement to constructive criticism. I’ve seen it work. I KNOW it works. And I challenge you to put that strategy into your leadership arsenal.
Yes. CATCH them doing it right. That’s a good Catch.
