Lifting Employee Productivity Through Encouragement and Praise (and it works for kids too!)

I’m a Green Bay Packers fan, so I’m very very happy this week (for those of you who don’t follow American Football, they just won the Super Bowl). Win or lose, I’m a proud Packers fan, or a Cheesehead as we are sometimes called. I grew up in Wisconsin, my Dad grew up 30 minutes out of Green Bay. I was called “Packer” before I was born and they knew what to name me. And, some of my Dad’s ashes were spread over the 50 yard line at Lambeau Field, where the Packers play, when he passed away in 1999.

So I’m a proud Packers fan.

But Monday morning Sydney time, when the Packers met the Steelers at the new Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, I couldn’t help but admire Mike Tomlin, Head Coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Because Mike perfectly demonstrated one of the hallmarks of an inspirational leader.

The Steelers played a good game. Their defense was almost flawless. They played as a well oiled team. And watching Mike Tomlin, the youngest Head Coach (hired at just 34 years old, now 38) to both coach and win a Super Bowl told me all I needed to know about how that team works.

As busy as Mike was on the field that day he took the time to interact with and acknowledge even the most insignificant of those on his team. Bench players who didn’t have a hope of getting into the game, support staff that are normally invisible in the background, even the guys getting water for the team. Mike had a smile, a pat and what looked like a few encouraging words.

Although incredibly focused, he didn’t walk anywhere without acknowledging those around him.

And you could see the team respond. On and off the field.

When his players made a few bonehead plays (like turning over the ball 4 times through interceptions or fumbles) he didn’t get in their face and yell as I’ve seen so many other coaches do. Although I couldn’t hear his words, it looked like he simply debriefed them as to what had gone wrong and then encouraged them to do better the next time.

According to the Gallup Organisation’s research of over 80,000 managers, this is the exact behaviour of a leader who inspires top performing teams. They found that you can raise productivity levels of a team by up to 19% by addressing “problem” behaviour immediately. But you can actually raise productivity by a whopping 71% through using praise. That’s right. The carrot is far more effective than the stick.

Gallup and now Marcus Buckingham on his own, have both done a great deal of research in this area and they have proven time and time again that encouraging people to play to their strengths and praising them for doing a good job is far more effective than focusing on what the employee needs to improve upon.

And not only is this the most effective way to get the best out of your staff, they will also be more engaged and happier in their job. And happy employees equate to stable employees, potentially saving your company millions of dollars over time and you many sleepless nights.

I’ve had personal experience with this.

I ride a motorbike. Well to be fair, it’s a little 150 cc scooter, but I think I’m pretty bad A$$! I tell you this because, getting a motorbike license in Sydney is a very rigorous process and my experience demonstrates well the difference between focusing on what you do wrong versus praise.

It was pouring rain the first time I did my test and I was really really nervous. My instructor was particularly gruff and made me feel stupid. I wasn’t a very confident rider back then and by the time I took my test I was almost shaking. I fell off the bike during the quick stop part of the practical. It turns out that they frown on you actually falling off of the bike during the test, so needless to say I did not pass.
In fact, 5 out of the 7 people in my group failed.

Fast forward a few months to my retake. Guess what? It was raining again!!! But what happened served to remind me of the power of positive reinforcement. This instructor was just the opposite of the first one I had. He made me feel like I was the best rider he’d ever seen. Consciously I KNEW this not to be true, but unconsciously I was almost giddy by the time I took the practical. There was no way I could fail. I knew it.

And all 9 of our group passed this time.

So the next time you pass one of your staff in the hallway, take time to notice and acknowledge them. Let them know they matter.

But more than that, find out what your employee’s strengths are and encourage them play to those strengths. And praise them for a job well done.

See how much better they perform, how much better you sleep and how much your company saves by retaining instead of turning over your staff.

And guess what? Despite all of the recent publicity about “Tiger Moms” it works for kids too!