Do you remember the movie Office Space, which told the story of uninspired corporate employees that everyone seems to identify with on some level?
The restaurant where Jennifer Aniston’s character worked required the wait staff to wear a minimum of 15 pieces of “flair.” She wore the required 15 pieces, and no more, despite her manager’s pestering.
Why should she have worn more? There was no reward for going above and beyond the minimum standard.
That is how most managers manage: they set a minimum standard and provide negative feedback when people fall below it.
Sometimes they try to “inspire” higher achievement by using the same type of negative feedback, but this just breeds confusion and further reduces motivation to excel.
Reinforce what People do RIGHT
In the technical fields I work in, most work is complex and requires independence and problem-solving skills. Setting minimum guidelines and then only giving feedback when somebody goes below them just guarantees that everybody is motivated to do the bare minimum.
You can raise the minimum standards, but by only so much, and you’ll be completely ignoring the innovation and creativity that can come from your team when they are properly motivated.
I remember being in a leadership class and we were talking about motivation and recognition , and somebody asked why we would need to do this because employees should know how to do their job. If there is no praise, this line of thinking will linger, either unspoken or whispered about in quiet conversations.
- I get reprimanded when I do things wrong so that I won’t do them anymore.
- But how do I know which of the other things that I don’t get feedback on are most important?
- Are they equally important? That can’t possibly be true. I just have to guess.
- How do I know if my managers think I’m doing my job well?
- During the next round of layoffs, am I in line? I feel like I am because I never hear anything positive about my job performance.
There are only so many hours in a day, and not all tasks are created equal. If you praise somebody when they do something right, you are motivating this person to improve the quality and frequency of that action. That person will know exactly what they should be focusing on, and there will never be any uncertainty in how they are seen in the eyes of their boss.
Any time you see an employee doing something even slightly above average you need to bring this up to them. Look for opportunities to praise, just as you are looking for opportunities to correct. Do it right away, so nobody forgets the event.
Recognition makes people feel better
As Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, M.D. teach in The New One Minute Manager:
“People Who Feel Good About Themselves Produce Good Results.”
I have heard many times over the years, both from direct reports and from peers that the only feedback they ever get is when they do something wrong. Most people say that with a “well, that’s life” kind of attitude. Or worse, in an “at least I have a job” kind of attitude. And I guess that is OK, but eventually, you are going to get tired of that. I certainly did.
When somebody feels good about the work they do they are motivated not only to continue the good work, but to care about the work they are do. It becomes more than “just a job”, it becomes a passion. It boosts their creativity and innovation.
It allows them to work independently with minimal oversight. An independent employee is a happy employee. If you are constantly watching over their shoulder it shows that you don’t trust them. Nobody is happy when there is no trust.
You may think of rewards for good work as a gift card or maybe a pizza party. In my experience those almost never work. What works is their manager telling them what they did well, and how that made them feel. People are emotional creatures and emotions are important and powerful. They provide a reason for what they do. And if your employees have a reason for what they do you they can do great things.