↗️ When the police sends you a letter, it means…

Have you received a letter by the police before?

A close relative received an important one a few years ago.

Let’s stop here for a moment.

What is your assumption at this point on what that letter was possibly about?

Correct.

It was a good driving award. 😁

It is something the Singapore police apparently sends out to someone who has been active on the road for a while without incident.

Let’s be honest. Did you see that coming?

For most people, the natural response is ‘brace yourself for bad news’.

Why?

Unfortunately, it is from experience. Past letters for my relative were mostly about parking fines, a missed toll road payment, etc.

The effect of this letter? We still talk about it even years later in glowing terms.

There is a question at work that creates a very similar reaction.

Imagine someone asks you: “Can I give you some feedback?”

If this question automatically makes you shudder, then you are the norm.

Most people have learned the pavlovian reflex that no good things can come next. SHIELDS UP!

What is one of the main reasons?

Many Leaders only give feedback when things go wrong.

Positive feedback, on the other hand, is seen as ‘soft’, unnecessary (‘Hey, I pay you for doing your work!’) or simply as something that invites people to rest on their laurels.

This misses a huge opportunity that lies in feedback that is positive reinforcement, i.e. things that go well.

I say, let’s break this pattern.

Let’s give feedback equally or MORE often about the things that go right.

What do I mean by that?

Ask yourself this question about your team:

“What’s working well that I want my team members to CONTINUE doing?”

For example

• The report that your team member diligently sends every week.
• The team member who keeps a top client happy over the years, generating continuous business.
• The excellent email style used by a team member that continues to keep things clear in the middle of a hot project.

Here’s a truth: What we focus on gets reinforced.

If we focus on the negative, people set their attention on that (‘It must be more important to

my boss than anything else right now!‘).

In the coming days and weeks, when you talk with team members, peers, your kids, spend some time also shining the spotlight on what works well. Then see the effect!

Let us not take positive performance for granted!

Have a productive week ahead!

Maik