Quiz: How Likely Are You to Boost Productivity by 40%?
This is a guest post courtesy of my friend, the talented coach Deborah Galuk of HumanRx.
Early in my career I had a great job, loved my work and my boss, Jan Dolejsi. My clients were achieving their goals, my reputation was growing and I was acknowledged with a few awards, too. SWEET!
One day I remember a specific conversation when I told my boss, Jan, that she gave me too much positive feedback. She chuckled and responded with, “Well, I guess that’s your problem.”
Honestly, it is only in writing this article today when I realized how much power it had for me and I wasn’t aware of it at the time. It didn’t feel manipulative at all, she was always genuine. All that positivity was new to me, and perhaps it helped inspire and motivate me to do my best and give my all.
It turns out there’s evidence to support giving frequent recognition and encouragement. Some studies have found up to 42% productivity improvement.
Manager QUIZ
Here is a quick quiz to assess how much you use recognition and encouragement to help keep others engaged and perform to their best. Print this out and place a check in the box that best describes you. Legend: SD = Strongly Disagree; D = Disagree; N = Neutral; A = Agree; SA = Strongly Agree
Here is a quick way to gauge whether you’re likely to be helping others be their best. If most of your checkmarks are in the:
Strongly Disagree or Disagree: you have a huge opportunity to reap the productivity gains associated with giving frequent recognition and encouragement.
Neutral: you are probably doing a number of things right. Be even more intentional about giving frequent recognition and encouragement.
Strongly Agree or Agree: you and your employees are already reaping the benefits associated with frequent recognition and encouragement. You are a great role model for others, keep doing it.
A bit more about Deborah Galuk, PhD:
A respected executive coach, strategic planner and business consultant, Deborah brings to clients more than 20 years of management and human resources experience in a variety of industries including defense, health care, manufacturing, and energy management. Her clients range from the United States Marine Corps to Fortune 500 corporations and small businesses all with one thing in common: They are driven to succeed.
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