Hello Wake Up Eager Friend,
When is the last time someone intently listened to you without giving advice? Have you had anyone show their appreciation for you and highlight your strengths, lately? And, when was the last time you listened, appreciated and highlighted the strengths of the people you work and live with?
Sadly, intently listening and sharing appreciation is NOT common in most of our daily lives, especially at work. Study after study indicate that 65%+ of the workforce receive little to no appreciation or acknowledgement of strengths.
According to Lee Glickstein, the founder of Speaking Circles, "Positive feedback nurtures growth,"
In the Hurlock Study groups of fourth and fifth graders were either publicly praised or criticized for their work. Both sets of students (the "praised" and "criticized") did a little better after the first day of public feedback. But in the succeeding days, the "praised" group showed much stronger improvement than the "criticized" group. The "praised" students improved by 71%, the "criticized" group improved by just 19%.
Yes, there ARE times to discuss troubling performance and behaviors, but those discussions are much more effective if we have the "magic" ratio of 3 Praise conversations to every 1 Correction conversation, with each employee and teammate.
Be a Better Listener and Appreciator:
3) Apply the 'Magic' Ratio to Every Relationship. The tested formula is 3:1 (3 praise to every 1 correction) for working relationships and 5:1 (praise: correction) for
personal relationships.
