How Full is Your Bucket

Re-reading a great book, How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald O.Clifton and it went over a study that was conducted in 1925 where fourth-sixth graders were put into three different groups. One group was praised in front of the group for their good work, the next was criticized in front of their group for their poor work and the third was ignored completed, although they were present to hear the others being praised and scolded. The chart says it all that the students who were criticized showed a major decline in their test scores, and by Days 3 and 4, they were performing on par with students who had been completely ignored. In contrast, the student praised experienced a major improvement after Day 2 and throughout the experiment. This should scream to all of us that we all need to provide more positive reinforcement to not only our kids but to each other. As a recruiter one of the most common things I hear from people looking for a change is that they feel underutilized, undervalued, and like they are not able to contribute to their full potential. If you have someone working for you that is doing a great job, don't assume they know, tell them and get specific on why they are doing a great job and tell them often. Those who choose not to often have their people turn to people like me to assist them in finding them a new home that does.