Positive Reinforcement

One of the ways to touch the human spirit is to recognize it.

I can live for two months on a good compliment.
-Mark Twain

Recognition is positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement of actions gets those actions repeated. Recognition and praise reinforce our beliefs about ourselves and helps make us better than we thought we were.

Positive reinforcement is what builds our self-esteem. Our self-esteem is the way we see and feel about ourselves either internally, through our beliefs, or externally through what we accept as the beliefs of others. If we feel good about ourselves and we believe others feel good about us, we perform better than we would when we see the opposite side of the coin.

People perform in a manner that is consistent with how they see themselves conceptually. So, the key is to help people build their self-esteem.

Unlike money, which is an external motivator and never lasting, one's self-esteem is internal, and internal motivation is everlasting. In order to build a healthy self-esteem one needs recognition and praise, both from one's self and from others. You can help build someone's self-esteem and self motivation through recognition, but also through advancement and responsibility where that person can obtain a sense of achievement and personal growth...

You can't motivate another person to do anything. We all know we can only accomplish so much on our own and that everyone is a product of their environment. You have the opportunity to create the environment. You can only provide the means and the atmosphere in which others motivate themselves....Actions that get recognized or rewarded get repeated."
-Bob Urichuck, "Employee Recognition: Does It Improve Performance?"
HR TODAY - The Canadian Journal of Workplace Issues,
Plans and Strategies, May 1998, 24-26

Remembering to Recognize:
"I try to remember that people--good, intelligent, capable people--may actually need day-to-day praise and thanks for the job they do. I try to remember to get up out of my chair, turn off my computer, go sit or stand next to them and see what they're doing, ask about the challenges, find out if they need additional help, offer that help if possible, and most of all, tell them in all honesty that what they are doing is important: to me, to the company and to our customers."
-John Ball
Service Training Manager, American Honda Motor Co.
Source: Bob Nelson, "1001 Ways to Reward Employees", 130

Satisfied needs do not motivate
"It's only the unsatisfied need that motivates. Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is psychological survival - to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, to be appreciated."
-Stephen Covey
"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"