The Key to Developing People

The Key to developing people is to catch them doing something right and good. Catching people doing things right is a powerful Management concept. Unfortunately, most leaders have a genius for catching people doing wrong things. Great leaders such as Ken Blanchard always recommend that leaders spend at least an hour a week wandering around their operations catching people doing things right.

But remember, effective praising must be specific. Just walking around saying, "Thanks for everything" is meaningless and loses value. If you say, "Great job", to a poor performer and, "Great job" to a good performer, you sound ridiculous to the poor performer and demotivate the good performer.

Catching people doing things right provides satisfaction and motivates good performance. However, remember to praise immediately, make it specific, and encourage people to keep up the good work. This principle helps Leaders shine even at home. It's a marvelous way to interact and affirm people in your life.