19. |
Become a Value Finder |
It’s unfortunate that, in many organizations, the only time people hear from their superiors is when they’ve made a mistake. Too many managers and supervisors spend their days searching for someone who’s done something wrong and, when they find him or her, pounce on that person like a hungry cat after a mouse.
While this may solve an immediate problem, in the long run it makes for a very unpleasant work environment.
If you want to be happier and more productive and to rise in your company faster, become a “value finder.” Value finders are those people who are always on the lookout for an opportunity to compliment their coworkers and employees. They actively seek people who are doing things right and make a practice of praising them, usually in earshot of others in the department.
Companies that encourage value finding throughout the organization typically find not only that morale improves significantly but also that productivity improves as well. Happy people perform better than unhappy people. It’s that simple.
Let’s face it: no one likes to be berated in front of others for making a mistake. It’s embarrassing, and, to a great extent, will lower the morale of the entire organization.
Of course, people need to be corrected from time to time; however, a better way to do this is by acting in a coaching capacity rather than by just pointing a finger and, figuratively, beating up on the individual. And it should always be done in private. As stated earlier, never criticize or critique an employee in front of other people in the group.
Fred has a habit of being late most days. A lot of managers would simply scold him, hopefully in private, and tell him to make sure he was on time in the future, or they might even threaten him with dismissal. Neither of these, by the way, would do much for improving his motivation or morale.
A manager acting in a coaching capacity would first ask Fred what he thought the cause of his perpetual tardiness was. This is a more constructive approach to the problem, since it addresses the underlying cause of the behavior rather than the behavior itself. The manager may learn, for example, that Fred has to drop his children off at school and if he could come in even a half hour later, it would ease the situation. In many instances this would be an easy enough change to make.
Whatever the problem, the manager who can act in a coaching capacity is more likely to remedy the problem, since she is addressing the situation causally.
There was a time in history, not that long ago, when people believed that berating their employees and, unfortunately, their children, was the way to improve performance. We now know better. Putting a person down for making a mistake is, as mentioned earlier, like hitting your computer with a stick to make it work better. You wouldn’t even consider hitting your MacBook with a stick, yet we do the equivalent to our employees, coworkers, spouses, and children all the time.
The boss or manager who becomes known as someone who catches people doing things right and comments about it cultivates a culture of support and recognition in the department and quickly rises in the organization.
Companies are once again appreciating the value of their employees and understanding that the time and resources invested in their development and well-being contributes directly to the bottom line. In the twenty-first century, your most valuable asset is what comes in the door every morning and goes home at the end of the day: namely, your employees and colleagues.
If you take care of them, the company will reap the benefits of an empowered and inspired workforce.