Criticism and praise

When I see environments that rely purely on criticism to change behavior I think they are missing a trick.

They need to consider the yin to criticism’s yang, praise.

I think people hate criticism and crave praise.

So while people will want to strongly avoid a scolding, it brings an dimension of fear and shame into the environment.

Therefore if you want to create a positive team environment and you have great influence over the culture then criticize sparingly and praise in abundance.

Even when criticising, separate out the intention from the outcome.

I think you made the right decision to pass to Julio there, so kudos for seeing that opportunity but it was just your pass lacked a bit of power that meant it didn’t come off.

Furthermore people will chase praise.

If you can show them what good looks like and reinforce all examples of good behavior they will look to do it again.