Management Tip: Express Appreciation

Do you want your staff to work harder? To be more creative?  To like you more? Try this super simple and immensely effective management tool.  Each day, for the next two weeks, look for two actions or qualities to acknowledge and appreciate about your staff.  Is the receptionist extremely polite and helpful to clients?  Did John write a particularly good brief last week?  Tell them so.  This will create a palpable difference in the work environment, and ultimately, in staff performance.  The importance of positive feedback is even reinforced by recent neurological research.  Studies have shown that for people to learn and grow, the optimal amount of positive versus negative feedback is five to one.  Imagine how pleasant and productive work would be if people actually followed that ratio!

First Break All the Rules, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

“How do the world’s greatest managers find, focus and keep talented employees?” The Gallup Organization interviewed managers and leaders in large and small organizations to discover what the top ten percent had in common.  They learned that the best supervisors tend to take an unconventional approach to overseeing staff.  For example, these managers do not advocate treating everyone identically.  They pay attention to the differences in style, temperament and motivation of each person and adjust their techniques accordingly.  They also spend the majority of  their time and energy on the most productive rather than the least effective employees.  When great managers identify weaknesses in their star staff members, they find creative ways to work around those flaws rather than waste time and energy trying to fix intractable character traits.   Regardless of how much experience or success you have supervising others, this book will provide new perspectives and insight.  Plus, it’s a fun read.