The No. 1 reason why most Australians leave their jobs is the feeling they’re not appreciated.
In fact, 65% of people surveyed said they received no recognition for good work last year, according to a annual survey conducted by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, authors of How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life (2004).
According to Gallup research, what employees want most — along with competitive pay — is quality management.
When they feel unappreciated and disapprove of their managers, they leave or join the growing ranks of the disengaged.
In 2005, Jerry Krueger and Emily Killham shared the results of Gallup research that showed managers play a crucial role in employee well-being and engagement—but the research didn't study what managers specifically did to elicit positive responses.
That's why Margaret Greenberg, president of The Greenberg Group, and Dana Arakawa, a program associate at the John Templeton Foundation, put the theory of positive leadership to the test. They wanted to know if managers who apply positive leadership practices have teams with higher project performance and employee engagement.
As it turns out, positive managers practice three leadership behaviours:
1. Use a strengths-based approach, ie continually focus on a person’s strengths.
2. Provide frequent recognition and encouragement.
3. Maintain a positive perspective when difficulties arise.
None is an innate behaviour, but all can be learned.
Reference: Coach2Coach newsletter, July 28, 2010.
