Better Software - January 2008 - (Page 17) Management Chronicles STORY LINES • Recognize team members when they do something right. • Recognize effective behavior as close as possible to when the behavior happens. • Know the person you are rewarding well enough to give him something that you know will please him. • Have the members of your team recognize other members’ effective behaviors. “Of course, I would like that. And please let Deanna know that I appreciate her for the coaching she gave Sanjay today on putting automated unit tests in his code. That’s going to pay dividends in speed and quality as we go through the development of the new product. Normally I would send her an email, but I think it would be more powerful coming from you,” she said with a wink. {end} Steven M. Smith (www.stevenMsmith.com) is a management consultant who helps managers make more effective decisions. With more than three decades of experience as a thought leader in technical organizations, he shares his know-how through his writing, consulting, and leadership of experiential workshops. He is a founder and host of the annual Amplifying Your Effectiveness (AYE) Conference (www.ayeconference.com), at which he leads experiential workshops. Steven can be reached at steve@stevenMsmith.com. “I can’t think of anything.” “Then tell me your thoughts on recognition,” I said. “I invest significant energy recognizing things that team members do to help the team be more effective. The essence of what I do is what my mentor called ‘Catch Them Doing It Right.’” “What did he mean by that?” “He believed that the behavior of people in organizations is shaped by every organizational action and, just as importantly, every organizational inaction. He thought of recognition both as feedback and as action. He coached me to provide immediate feedback to employees when I caught them doing something right. And he also taught me how to leverage other team members to provide similar feedback.” “Whoa!” I said. “I remember we had a segment in status meetings where we appreciated people for something specific they had done that helped us. You said it was something you learned from a famous family therapist. That’s recognition?” “You got it,” Eleanor said. “The part of recognition that’s the most overlooked is providing the feedback as close as possible to when the behavior happens.” “What else should I be asking you about recognition?” I asked. “You should be asking me why it’s important to recognize a behavior as soon as possible.” “You’re right. That’s exactly what I should be asking. Please tell me why.” Eleanor’s eyes sparkled as she said, “It’s to increase the chances that the behavior is repeated by that member. Then the other members who hear the recognition consider exhibiting similar behavior. I like to think of it as planting the seeds of effective behaviors.” “Is there anything else should I be asking you about recognition?” She smiled. “I can’t think of anything. And now is a good stopping point because I have another meeting in five minutes. Did the discussion help you?” “Yes, I got more help than I expected. Thanks for your help, Eleanor. Would it be alright if I sent you an email outlining my understanding?” What effective action did a member of your team take this morning that you will recognize this afternoon? M Follow the link on the StickyMinds.com homepage to join the conversation. www.StickyMinds.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 BETTER SOFTWARE 17 http://www.stevenMsmith.com http://www.ayeconference.com http://StickyMinds.com http://www.softwareplanner.com http://www.StickyMinds.com
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