Praising

Why Catching People Doing Things Right Is the Best Way to Lead

/ Ken Blanchard

Catch People Doing Things Right, Martha Lawrence’s new biography about my life, is coming out on October 21. That might seem like an odd title for a biography, but I can see why Martha chose it.

I’ve often said that if I could hold on to only one of the leadership lessons I’ve taught over the years, it would be to catch people doing things right. Why? Because a person who works hard needs positive feedback for their efforts. Praise is inherently motivating and only takes a moment—yet it can make all the difference in how the worker feels about their day, their job, their leader, and their organization.

I once asked a young woman if she liked her boss. She said, “She’s okay. She seems to think I’m doing a good job.”

“How can you tell?” I asked.

“Well, she hasn’t yelled at me lately,” she said. Sadly, I wasn’t surprised to hear her response.

Poor Leaders Catch People Doing Things Wrong

In the past I’ve said to groups of people, “How many of you are sick and tired of all the praisings you get at work?” I would always get the same response—laughter. It’s sad how much time managers spend pointing out what’s wrong with people’s performance instead of catching them doing things right.

When I began studying leadership in the 1960s, very few people saw their manager as a friend or colleague. Bosses were widely regarded as people whose job it was to catch their workers doing things wrong. A leader would evaluate someone’s performance, reprimand them, demand they improve, and disappear until it happened again. When people heard the boss had a meeting scheduled, they knew they must be getting in trouble because that’s the only time the boss would ever show up.

To me, this sounded like the opposite of a motivational environment. I couldn’t help but think: What if things were reversed? What if the boss noticed people doing things right, praised their progress, and cheered them on?

Great Leaders Catch People Doing Things Right

Great leaders who want to encourage and motivate their people set up a positive cycle:

  1. A great leader catches someone doing something right and praises them.
  2. The leader’s praise helps the person feel good about themselves.
  3. People who feel good about themselves produce good results.
  4. A great leader notices when people produce good results.   
  5. See #1.

Think about a time when you were proud of something you did but nobody seemed to notice. How did you feel? Now think about a time when you did something well and were praised or otherwise recognized for it. How did you feel then? What was the difference between the two?

People never tire of being told they’re doing good work. It’s good for morale and engagement, and it leads to confident, empowered employees.

How to Give a One Minute Praising

One Minute Praisings—the Second Secret of The One Minute Manager—are a key component of catching people doing things right. An effective One Minute Praising reinforces the behaviors that move people closer to their goals. And it only takes one minute, if you follow these six steps:

  1. Praise someone as soon as you see or hear about praiseworthy behavior or work. Don’t store up compliments for later; unspoken praise is meaningless.
  2. In very clear terms, tell the person what they did right and be specific.
  3. Say how good you feel about what they did and how it helps others and/or the organization. Relate their good behavior to the broader picture.
  4. Once you’ve given the praising, pause to let the message sink in and to give the person a chance to feel good about what they did.
  5. Let the person know you would like to see more of the same behavior.
  6. Make it clear you have confidence in them and you support their success.

As an example, an effective manager could say, “George, I appreciate your sending me your weekly report on time. It provided accurate information and allowed me to meet my deadlines. Keep up the great work!” This praising clearly states the manager’s appreciation, which boosts George’s morale and helps him realize he is an important member of the team.

Extra Hints to Remember

The concept of catching people doing things right can work in many scenarios.

  • When was the last time you caught your boss doing something right? Just because someone is at a higher level doesn’t mean they can’t use some encouragement.
  • Express your appreciation to family and friends often. Acknowledging how much you care helps keep these important relationships close, healthy, and moving in a positive direction.
  • Want a self-esteem boost? Reflect on your own achievements and celebrate your wins! It will motivate you to set new goals for yourself.

Also, don’t wait until someone does something exactly right to praise them. Remember that exactly right behavior is made up of a series of approximately right behaviors. Praising someone’s progress encourages them and lets them know they’re going in the right direction. People shouldn’t have to be perfect to earn a little praise.

I believe most leaders genuinely want to manage people well, but many fall short of this goal. Leaders who catch people doing things right create a work environment where people are engaged and committed to doing a good job. Don’t forget that it only takes a minute to praise someone for a job well done. It could be the most important minute of their day—and yours.

A Simple Framework to Manage Performance

/ Ken Blanchard

A critical skill for any leader is managing the performance of others. In our book Putting the One Minute Manager to Work, Bob Lorber and I introduce the ABCs of management as a framework to help leaders and their people succeed. It is a simple way to get back to the basics of influencing performance.

A stands for Activators—this refers to things a leader does before performance. All good performance starts with clear goals, so in this phase of the framework leaders must make sure employees understand (1) their areas of responsibility and (2) what good performance looks like in each of those areas. Goal setting is critical because it activates the management process. Once goals are clear, the leader provides the appropriate leadership style—directing, supporting, coaching, or delegating—to help the employee achieve the goals.

B is for Behavior. Here is where the leader observes what employees say and do while working on their goals. Leaders take note of tasks being completed (or not), deadlines being met (or not), and progress being made (or not). Since goals are clearly developed and agreed to in the first step, it is easy to determine whether people’s behaviors are contributing to the accomplishment of the goal or taking away from goal achievement.

What leaders observe in the Behavior stage determines the basis of a response. This leads to the C element in the framework—Consequences. In this phase, leaders manage the behaviors they have observed. If an employee is making progress, the leader praises that progress; if not, they redirect the employee to help them get back on track.

The ABC framework makes managing performance easier for leaders as well as their people. Employees have clear goals and an understanding of performance expectations—and leaders manage consequences in a helpful, respectful way. Give it a try!

Leadership is a Partnership

/ Ken Blanchard

Leadership is not something you do to people. It’s something you do with people. I have believed this statement my entire career—and it might be even more important now than it was 35 years ago. Workforces are more diverse, workplaces are less centralized, and technology continues to revolutionize how business is conducted and how people communicate. The most successful leaders are the ones who partner with their staff.

Partnership starts with clear and frequent communication. Leaders must establish a rhythm or consistent schedule of discussions with team members. I suggest that leaders meet at least once a week, for 30 minutes with each direct report. That might sound like a lot of extra work, but I guarantee if you spend this time you’ll create trusting relationships with your team that will improve morale and productivity in your department.

Use these meetings to work with your team member to set clear goals, to praise progress on tasks, to redirect efforts if necessary, and to celebrate the completion of each project. It is critical that the leader and team member participate equally in these meetings, speak their truths, and listen with the intent of learning something—not judging.

Some of you reading this might be saying, “This isn’t new information.” You’re right it isn’t—but it is such a simple truth of leadership that I want to remind people again and again. You’ve probably heard me say that the information I provide for leaders is just common sense. But I also say that my philosophy isn’t always commonly practiced.

My goal is to have every leader start having these important conversations with their teams. I urge you to partner with each team member to help them be successful. So, I provide this reminder for you to be a leader that makes this common sense, common practice. You’ll soon realize how a small investment of time spent partnering with your people will build a stronger, more self-reliant team.

Let’s Talk: Tips for New Managers

/ Ken Blanchard

A new manager faces important and sometimes jarring differences in their new role. They must focus on not only achieving their own work, but also managing the work of their team, managing the relationships of former colleagues who are now direct reports, and managing projects that have an impact on the organization. One of the keys to becoming an effective manager is the ability to conduct meaningful conversations. Our new First-time Manager program introduces the four most important conversations a new manager can master: goal setting, praising, redirecting, and wrapping up.

Put yourself in the place of a direct report who is beginning work on a new task or project. What questions do you think they would have? Here are four areas of concern that I believe drive people’s behavior at work:

“What are my goals on this task or project?”

“Am I doing the right things to help the team move forward?”

“How did I get off track—and how can I get back on?”

“Now that we’ve achieved the goal, what did we learn?”

The answers to these questions lie within the four types of conversations every manager needs to have with each team member at various stages of work on a task or goal.

For example, when a direct report needs to understand what they are supposed to be doing, they need to have a goal setting conversation with their manager. This dialogue focuses on exactly what the direct report needs to do and by when. It should take place at the beginning of a project or task and should include clear and compelling goals that are written down and reviewed frequently. This conversation sets the direct report up for success, growth, and development.

During the course of the task or project, the manager must give feedback to the direct report about their performance. When the individual is making good progress and doing things right, it’s time for a praising conversation. This conversation helps the person understand what specific behaviors are helping achieve the goal, why they matter, and that they were noticed and appreciated.

When things aren’t going as well in terms of a direct report’s behaviors or actions, the manager must initiate a redirecting conversation. This discussion will guide the direct report back on track toward the goal by helping them know what specific behaviors are out of alignment with the goal, why they matter, and that the manager wants the person to succeed.

Once a project or task is completed, it is important to have a wrapping up conversation. This is the manager’s chance to focus on the outcome, celebrate accomplishments, and acknowledge learnings. Managers see the wrapping up conversation as a great way to keep people energized and to inspire engagement by encouraging their progress and honoring the work they have done.

Have you started conducting these conversations with your team? How’s it going? If you find some of the conversations easier to have than others, that’s normal—but I hope you see the importance of continuing to have each of these important discussions with each of your people. You’ll build their trust and confidence while improving morale and performance—and getting excellent results—all for the greater good.

Praising Performance to Build Confidence, Productivity, and Morale

/ Ken Blanchard / 1 Comment

Business People Talking On Business MeetingI ask people all the time, “How many of you are sick and tired of all the praisings you get at work?” I always get the same response—laughter. It’s sad how many managers spend their time pointing out things that are wrong with performance instead of catching people doing things right. That’s why Spencer Johnson and I encourage you to focus on the Second Secret of The New One Minute Manager®, One Minute Praisings.

After you have set clear goals with someone, it’s important to spend a good amount of time with that person to make sure they are set up for success. In fact, let people know you’re going to give them lots of feedback on their performance because you believe in their talent and you want them to be high performers. If they aren’t used to receiving much feedback it might seem confusing, but soon they’ll realize what a valuable tool it can be.

When you praise performance, remember to do it promptly and be specific about the behavior. Let the person know how you feel about their achievement and encourage them to keep up the good work. This is especially true when someone is working on a new skill or task, because praising will help build confidence. As people become more proficient, they will actually learn to praise themselves for a job well done.

Something to keep in mind: a One Minute Praising is not the same as flattery. It’s a statement that builds trust and improves communication because it’s based on facts and data. Saying “nice job” isn’t specific enough to build rapport. But if you say, “Sally, thank you for getting your monthly report to me on time. It provided accurate information and allowed me to meet my deadlines. Keep up the great work,” it clearly states your appreciation and will boost Sally’s morale. It will also help her realize she is an important member of the team and improve her productivity overall.

So spend a few minutes every day catching your people doing something right. It doesn’t take much time. Remember: the best minute of the day is the one you invest in your people.

NOMM-book-featureTo learn more about The New One Minute Manager, visit the book homepage where you can download the first chapter.