Acknowledge Results And Do Not Always Focus On The Bad

What is wrong? What is broken? What is not working? Employees are constantly put through the ringer by managers who are always looking for the flaws and weak links. I am not suggesting managers stop this practice because we need to analyze data to decide on how to make the organization better and more competitive. However, at what point is it counter productive? There are employees who are excelling in most areas but the manager will always find the one statistic which is below average while overlooking – and never praising – the other above average results. Management loves to read about motivation but who knows if they are aware of de-motivation. A great way to take a great employee to a worse employee is to pick the one area they are struggling and make them worry about their job security. The employee is offended because they dedicate all this time and effort to their results which for the most part are positive and respectable. Then a report is run which depicts one category (probably the focus of the month by the company which will be forgotten next month by management because they have a different focus) which you are facing obstacles. Rather than approach you, this ridicule and critique is sent out through email for everyone to view. Perhaps common courtesy is changing or maybe managers are becoming comfortable with hiding behind their walls, doors and desks where they shuffle through reports and data avoiding human contact all together.