chapter ten building stronger relationships with positive energy

Chapter Ten

Building Stronger Relationships with Positive Energy

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Chapter Preview: Building Stronger Relationships with Positive Energy

• How positive energy contributes to interpersonal relationships

• The need for encouragement and positive feedback

• Use of positive reinforcement to improve relationships and reward behavior

• Major barriers to use of positive reinforcement• How to reward individuals and team

performance


Energy Defined

• The capacity for work or the force that helps us do things with vitality and intensity

• Negative, stressful work environments results in– Physical fatigue– Decreased optimism– Lower morale

• Positive work climate makes workers feel– Uplifted – Encouraged – Empowered


Energy Force in Our Lives

• Energy has many intriguing dimensions– Energy comes from food, exercise, sleep

and subtle forces– Positive energy is supportive, loving, and

nurturing– Negative energy is fearful, judgmental, and

depleting– Some people make us more electric or at

ease– Some people suck the life right out of us


Actions and Events that CreatePositive Energy

• Organizations find new and creative ways to generate positive energy– Put people first– Commitment to work/life balance– Making work fun and entertaining

• Accentuate the positive


Our Need for Positive Reinforcement

• Craving appreciation is a basic principle of human nature

• Few people have the strength of ego to maintain high self-esteem without positive feedback

• Without positive feedback, employees often suffer from an energy deficit


Support from Maslow

• Hierarchy of needs provides support for the use of positive experiences

• Security (second-level need) is satisfied by positive feedback from a supervisor, manager, coworker or friend– One feels more secure when

accomplishments are recognized


Support from Maslow

• Belonging (third-level need) can be satisfied by actions that communicate– Being part of a team

• Esteem (fourth-level need) would be difficult without positive feedback from others


Support from Skinner

• Reinforcer is any stimulus that follows a response and increases the probability that the response will occur again

• Timing of reinforcement has an important effect on behavior– When the delay is too great, a change in

behavior is less likely to take place


Support from Berne

• Transactional Analysis (TA) is a simplified explanation of how people communicate

• Most people have a strong need for recognition, or “strokes”

• Strokes help satisfy the need to be appreciated

• Necessary for physical and mental health


Support from Berne

• A physical stroke can be a pat on the back or a smile that communicates approval– Infants who do not receive hugs, caresses,

and kisses often fail to thrive

• A verbal stroke includes words of praise or expressions of gratitude– Often more important in adulthood


Total Person Insight

Successful people speak words of inclusion rather than words of separation, words of acceptance rather than words of rejection, and words of tolerance rather than words of prejudice.

Jack CanfieldAuthor, The Success Principles


Positive Reinforcement—Creating Positive Energy

• Costs of negativity are high

• Rath and Clifton Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket – Full bucket, we feel great – Empty bucket, we feel awful – Can use dipper to fill others or ourselves– Dip from others, we spring a leak


Figure 10.2 - Dipper and Bucket Theory


Positive Reinforcement Defined

• The goal of positive reinforcement is to encourage productive behaviors

• Positive energy is an important form of life enrichment

• Positive reinforcement is:– Easy to use – Inexpensive – An effective way to generate positive

energy in the workplace


The Power of Praise

• Today we have a recognition deficit

• How well am I doing?– Praise makes an employee feel important

and needed rather than taken for granted – Praise is an effective strategy that ensures

repetition of desired behaviors – Try not to miss an opportunity to use praise

to generate positive energy


Table 10.1


Courtesy Can be Contagious

• “The greater the man, the greater the courtesy.”

• Courtesy means being considerate of others in small ways, showing respect for what others revere, and treating everyone, regardless of position, with consideration

• Rudeness flourishes in our society• Say “thank you” to someone who has

been helpful to you


Figure 10.3 - Congratulatory Letter Reinforcing Desirable Behavior


Active Listening

• Process of sending back to a speaker what you as a listener think the speaker meant in terms of content and feelings

• Everyone feels a sense of value when speaking with a good listener

• People long for authentic interaction

• Dialogue groups promote self-reflection and self-awareness


Pride as a Source of Positive Energy

• Pride is the emotional high that follows performance and success

• Katzenbach notes that the power of pride is obvious when you observe high-performing workforces

• Pride-builders can be found at all levels of the organization


Barriers to Positive Reinforcement

• People prefer negative feedback to no feedback at all

• Barriers

– Preoccupation with self– Pride– Misconceptions about positive

reinforcement– The “too busy” syndrome– Failing to identify commendable actions– Not knowing what to say or do


Preoccupation with Self

• Narcissism is a major obstacle to providing positive reinforcement

• Learn to give, in order to receive

• Helping others helps us

• Use Random Acts of Kindness– Little things we do for others that have no

payback– Giving freely, purely, for no reason


Total Person Insight

Feeling grateful is good for us. Gratitude is the opposite of the qualities of self-centeredness, indifference, and arrogance. Expressing gratitude affords each of us unique opportunities to reach out in love and share happiness. Saying thank you is a very positive thing to do.

Malcolm Boyd

Episcopal Priest; Author, Volunteering Thanks


Misconceptions About Positive Reinforcement

• Belief that praise leads to demands for tangible evidence of appreciation

• Perceived as losing power or control

• In the absence of praise, people often demand greater tangible rewards


The “Too Busy” Syndrome

• When we are too busy or stressed it is easy to forget or postpone thank-you notes or praise

• The solution to this problem is planning

• Set aside a few minutes each day to work on positive feedback


Failure to Identify Commendable Actions

• Many opportunities to recognize the people with whom you work

• Use creativity to discover many actions that deserve to be commended

• What types of behavior can you praise?


Not Knowing What to Say or Do

• Praise, recognition, and rewards can be presented in a variety of ways

• Use thoughtful, personal kinds of recognition that signify true appreciation

• “Good thinking!”

• “Excellent idea.”

• “Thank you.”

• “Keep up the good work.”


Table 10.2


Activities

• Send employee to workshop or seminar in which she or he is interested

• Ask for advice

• Ask for a demonstration of a correct performance

• Display or discuss another’s work or ideas

• Recognize someone’s work at a staff meeting


Rewarding Individual andTeam Performance

• Traditionally, managers and supervisors were responsible for reinforcing workers

• Today, co-workers, supervisors, subordinates and customers recognize the accomplishments of others

• The concept of teamwork is changing the way companies structure their reward systems

• Some organizations emphasize group rather than individual performance


Figure 10.4 - Shared Responsibility for Positive Reinforcement


Incentive Programs

• Planned activities designed to motivate employees – Vacation trips– Plaques or pins– Certificates– Stock options– Merit pay– Cash bonuses

• Organizations spend billions of dollars annually on incentives


Incentive Programs

• Today, innovative incentive plans reward – Increased productivity– Improved quality– Lower operating costs– Some combination of these factors


Incentive Programs

• Common objectives include:– Improve quality – Increase sales – Ensure safety – Decrease absenteeism – Foster teamwork – Reward participation in wellness programs – Improve customer service


Table 10.3


Criticisms of Incentive Programs

• Most companies use some type of cash or noncash rewards

• Criticisms still exist– Pay is not an effective motivator– Rewards can punish– Rewards can damage relationships– Rewards may mask real problems


Overcoming Criticisms of Incentive Programs

• Many organizations have achieved positive results

• Consider long-term impact

• Establish specific, achievable goals

• Seek employee input


Re-examining Our IdeasAbout Productivity

• Overtime pay is often used to reward employees– Employees perform optimally for six or

seven hours, then the fatigue factor surfaces

• Will the employee who is rewarded for working faster be more productive?

• Pink says we are progressing to a society of creators and empathizers


The Critical Importance of Environment

• Positive energy flourishes in a supportive environment

• Positive energy comes naturally in positive environments

• People must feel good about the organization, its leadership, and other employees


Chapter Review

• How positive energy contributes to interpersonal relationships– Major influence on employee morale and

productivity – Encouragement and positive feedback are

important ways to create positive energy


Chapter Review

• The need for encouragement and positive feedback– People feel good when accomplishments

are recognized and become upset when they are ignored

– Positive reinforcement is a powerful motivator

– Everyone needs to receive personal recognition for work well done


Chapter Review

• Use of positive reinforcement to improve relationships and reward behavior– Studies indicate that recognition is an

important employee reward preference, often ranked higher than monetary rewards and job security

– Praise, pride, courtesy, active listening, incentives, and awards can be used to instill positive energy


Chapter Review

• Major barriers to use of positive reinforcement– Preoccupation with self – “Too busy” syndrome– Blind to praise-worthy actions

• These tend to minimize the use of positive reinforcement


Chapter Review

• How to reward individuals and team performance– Most common incentive programs involve

• Gain sharing• Profit sharing• Production incentives• Pay for knowledge• Suggestion programs• Employee stock options

chapter ten building stronger relationships with positive energy

Documents

positive slide

positive energy slide

positive energy organizations

energy deficit slide

subtle forces positive

negative energy

energy force

lives energy