The Praise/Productivity Loop - a lesson from the world of physics.

As a busy manager it can be easy to slip in to reactive praise - recognising a key performer in a quarterly team meeting, or with an email after the fact.  But is this the only way of using praise to lead your team?

When I was at school I remember sitting in a physics class wrapping copper wire around a spindle to create an electric motor.  The motor was then connected up to a battery and around it went.

It's up to you where you start on the loop!

I then remember the teacher asking us what would happen in reverse - if we disconnected the battery and manually turned the copper wire around.

I was amazed to discover that the action of turning the copper wire round by hand would in fact create electricity and power a light bulb.  The motor had become a dynamo.

When you think about how you lead your team, its fairly clear that if your team is really productive then you'll praise them.

But remember the dynamo.  It's just as possible to use praise to initiate the productivity in your team, especially for the weaker performers in the group.

Praise doesn't have to be for a major piece of work, in fact it can be even more powerful for a smaller effort that might otherwise have gone un-noticed - perhaps helping a new starter settle in, putting an agenda for a team meeting together, or an idea for a new internal process.  The fact that you have praised shows that you are watching, shows that you value everything they are doing, and inspires that team member to go on and work harder.

Managers that use Kebuki are reminded to praise each and every team member on a consistent and regular basis ensuring that they use praise as a proactive dynamo for their team, and not a reactive motor.

For more information on Kebuki reminders check out the demo video.

Do you use proactive praise to drive productivity?  How has proactive praise helped your team to develop?  We'd love to know your comments in the section below.

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