Changing people’s behaviour is an art.
As we already know, the reprimand is used to change an undesired behaviour.
And as a loyal reader of my blog, you are undoubtedly familiar with both the constructive reprimand and the destructive reprimand.
But what do you do when you want to reinforce a behaviour you fully approve of?
I know, of course your staff is mostly incompetent and there’s not much to praise.
However, a miracle sometimes happens, mysteriously, and you find yourself praising spontaneously.
How do you handle it? The most widely used technique is that of the panegyric: let’s take a look at it in detail.
When to praise
Where
How
Then
In other words, praising is more difficult than reprimanding. And more dangerous.
Because if the destructive reprimand is something individuals get over in time – and a reprimand is no big drama, after all, who hasn’t gotten used to it? – restoring self-awareness may be hard to do, and takes a long time.
So, what’s best?
Do you know any techniques for praising without causing any damage?