Treat Your Corporate Team Like They Are All 8 Year Old’s

I got one of my most valuable lessons from coaching kids’ soccer. I’ve been coaching some kids since they were 6, so their skills are not very developed, so they will do a lot wrong. As a coach, the most valuable contribution is to praise whatever they do, right or wrong. In a game, 80% of the time, I’m shouting praise. If they run back to clear the ball and then miss, I praise the effort rather than the execution. If they attempt a shot that goes wildly off target, I praise they managed the kick. It makes perfect sense – why would anyone do different? But somehow, we forget that everybody needs praise. We stop praising kids when they get to a certain age and then expect that adults don’t need praise – Wrong. There is never an age that someone doesn’t enjoy hearing that you appreciate them. Doesn’t matter if it is your girlfriend, boyfriend, parent, kid, spouse, friend, colleague, even your boss. Don’t worry that it might be a bit mechanical, and the other person might analyze how genuine you are being. They will appreciate the comment at face value and accept it without reservation. Make sure you are not stingy in your praise.

Instead of praise, we substitute “frankness”. We believe that the individual is robust enough for us to be brutally honest. After all, they are an adult, so” talking down’ to them would be disrespectful! But praise and nurture are not juvenile exercises; it is just as much a mature practice as any other activity. Instead of nurture, we explain to the under-performer how disappointed we are, that they are falling short of the mark, and they need to do a lot better. You imagine they will return to their desk with greater resolve to improve, but more often than not, they just start looking for a new job. So, if that is what you want, please continue to give candid assessments of how poor they perform, and they will leave. But if you want to retain the individual and help them to increase their contribution, then encourage where you can, and coach the deficiencies.

When given a team of people to develop, whether you are a 17-year-old swim coach trying to bring on 7-year old’s, or a corporate manager of a team, treat them the same. It might feel strange telling a 24-year-old, “Good job, Emily”, when all she did was something quite ordinary, and something you would have expected her to do, but do it anyway. Your team will never be full of hotshots – you will get a mixed bag of talent. From the smart guy who needs no direction and little maintenance, to the person who has trouble getting stuff done or producing quality work. The hotshot still needs to know you appreciate them, but that is easy, because you do! It is holding off on blowtorching the poor performer that takes effort, and telling him that you appreciate his contribution (even if easy), and then ask, “How do you think we can make some progress”, and lead him gently through improvement. And then tell him he is brilliant. Don’t worry if you don’t believe it – he will, and that’s the important thing.