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A few weeks ago, I was working with a client to resolve some of his frustrations with his team’s performance and we came up with a new format in which to run team meetings.
The CEO wanted to review the team’s performance over the last month and this is how he did it.
He put up two flip charts: One with the heading – what worked well? The second was labeled – what didn’t work?
They began listing all the things that went well and that was when the Head of Sales piped up with this comment,
“Good news doesn’t make headlines.”
He’s right of course. And this was the first time the CEO had started a team meeting of this nature with good news.
In the past, this team’s reviews had always focused on what went wrong and how they should fix it. It was a surprise to them (a pleasant one) that they were going to spend time talking about what went right!
It’s true that good news doesn’t make headlines because the good stuff generally doesn’t hold our attention and generate more views or sell ad time for the media channels. But nothing could be further from the approach you need to have as a leader in your business (and actually anywhere else where you’re dealing with people).
As a leader, you need to point out the good stuff.
In every challenging situation, there are also things you can observe that went well. These need to be acknowledged. If they’re not, your people become demotivated.
I’ve had leaders say to me –
“There’s no need to acknowledge good things. If we do that, then my team will go soft and slow down, take their attention elsewhere, won’t put in an effort, etc.”
OR
“When they’re doing what they’re supposed to, why should I comment on it, it’s their job.”
Have you heard this (or thought this) before?
Giving compliments that are genuine and sincere (this is critical! don’t make it up) helps people hardwire the habits you want them to repeat. It helps people feel appreciated. That’s how you can let them know they’re on the right track and adding value.
It also creates a positive work environment where people want to do more of the good stuff.
And there’s brain science to back this up too! If you want to know more just ask me and I’ll tell you.
So, as a leader, please let the good news make your headlines.
We grow our capability and learn from the good news (and bad news). We need to look at both but often tend to overlook the good.
What do you do? Do you give attention to the good news? Let me know in the comments
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