Recognizing Success

A simple "well done or "thank you" may be sufficient to boost the morale of individual team members

As part of the review progress, take time to assess and acknowledge what each individual is doing well. This is important, because it can be difficult for members of your team to know whether they have changed their behavior in the right way unless someone tells them that what they are doing is right. If a person doesn't receive these positive encouragements they may be unsure and are likely to feel unsatisfied (given their extra efforts) or may even drift back to doing things the old way. Your role as a manager is to encourage and reward every individual within your team for doing new things right. The effect of these positive words or rewards is to recognize and reinforce the desired new behaviors your new strategy requires.

A simple "well done or "thank you" may be sufficient to boost the morale of individual team members, but you can also use more structured ways to mark success. If you measure your collective progress toward goals and targets, for example, you can then directly reward team members for achieving these milestones (either individually or collectively).

ACTION POINT: Measure progress and reward success with encouragement as well as in tangible ways where appropriate.