In workplace culture, a common quote in why people leave an organization is that they “don’t leave the company, they leave their manager.”
A major reason they leave their manager is because of a lack of appreciation and recognition.
Not everyone is perfect, and there will be times where you will need to coach your team out of bad habits, so not every interaction is going to be positive.
However, you want to make an effort so that most of your interactions with them are positive.
The Gottman Institute has a “Magic Ratio” that says the happiest marriages have a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions, meaning that for every negative interaction during conflict, a stable and happy marriage has five (or more) positive interactions.[2]
For a leader, you should have at least a 3:1 positive to negative interaction’s ratio with your team members.
During your on-boarding phase, you want to learn how they like to receive praise. Some people are fine to have it in public; others strongly prefer private communication.
Coaching and development conversations should always be done in private.
Before praising in front of the entire team, also recognize all the team members if they were involved.
You want everyone who contributed to be recognized; otherwise, you may find your team members won’t want to help each other out if they feel their contributions are not being recognized.
You may not be used to giving praise all the time, so if this is you, consciously think about recognizing and showing appreciation every time you see your team members doing something right.
You want to encourage those positive behaviors, so it becomes ingrained in your workplace culture.
You can also try creating some electronic calendar reminders of showing appreciation verbally daily, sending out a written card once a month and on everyone’s birthday.
If you are ready to grow your practice or are preparing to start your first practice, check out the IAPAM’s Practice Startup Workshop.