"There’s only one thing more contagious than a good attitude – and that’s a bad attitude…Most bad attitudes are result of selfishness.” -John Maxwell – The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork "A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle." - Benjamin Franklin

____________________________________________ Great leaders know how to focus on team ahead of themselves. They do this by developing a "We" focus.

Consider an exercise I often run with seminar participants. I call it Best/Worst Supervisor exercise.

I’m going to ask you to reflect on two specific supervisor-employee relationships you have experienced from employee side. As you read rest of this article, stop for a moment and carefully think about these relationships with your supervisors - either past or present.

Relationship Number 1:

Think about person you worked for that you would be willing to help anytime. Someone who you would willingly come in early, stay late, or work through lunch for just because they asked. The key phrase is, “just because they asked.” The person we are considering got extra effort from you because of who they were and not from position of authority they held over you.

You might write down answers to following questions as you reflect on this experience:

- What specifically did they do?

- How did they behave towards you and others to create this feeling in you?

- How much fear did you feel associated with working for them?

- Did you feel controlled or influenced by them? In other words, did they have an indirect effect on your behavior, or did they directly regulate your behavior?

My personal experience, verified by discussions with thousands of business people across country, is that most people report a positive, influence type relationship with this person.

We’ll call this person Best Supervisor.

Relationship Number 2:

You’ve built a great team. You’ve put strong players in every spot. You have clearly defined procedures for every part of business. You have incentive, safety recognition, and bonus programs.

But something doesn’t seem quite right.

Somehow, there seems to be a sense of unease. You can’t put your finger on it exactly, but you know it’s there. It’s what you wake up at 2 a.m. worrying about.

What are symptoms? Well, it’s not that precise. It’s little things. Like, well, you spend too much time monitoring your workers – checking time sheets, correcting behavior problems, and dealing with attitude problems. People seem to be “doing their own thing” instead of being a part of a team.

Sound familiar?

It should, because getting optimal team performance is a common problem for business owners, from largest corporation to mom and pop business. Building a strong team provides foundation for good performance, but that is only part of process. As manager, you need to encourage behaviors that create positive business results.

A powerful tool for encouraging these behaviors is use of targeted positive reinforcement within a well defined performance management system. Much has been written about use of positive reinforcement in recent years, but many managers and business owners still struggle with how to apply it appropriately. One reason many people do not hoped for results is a misunderstanding of how reinforcement strategies really work.

Much more than “pats on back”, “atta-boys”, and “warm fuzzies”, effective use of positive reinforcement strategies in a structured performance management system relies on knowledge of your business systems, understanding effect of specific employee behaviors on business results, and precisely targeted behavioral reinforcements.

Creating a strong performance management system starts with understanding why people do what they do.