“All their training is based on positive reinforcement. We keep fish throughout the area and as part of our training routine, we reinforce and reward with a fish. This is how we train them to master a maneuver.“
This comment was from the trainer that trains the sea lions at Disney. I’m a big fan of certain channels such as Animal Planet,Discovery and my all time favorite, National Geographic.
This episode was centered around the trainer and how he puts these animals through their paces for the shows at Sea World. As foolproof as this positive reinforcement is, some will wash out and will not make it. However, the vast majority of them perform their routine flawlessly
Positive reinforcement is the key
Cesar Millan uses the same method on his TV show when he is called in for unruly and problem animals. One of the anecdotes from his show is that he trains people [owners] and not animals to be pack leaders
As I watched this story unfold in its simplicity, I remembered back to our Cocker-Spaniel and how we trained him to do just about anything using the same method.
I have always used a similar approach in managing people — positive reinforcement for a job well done, and encouragement during trying times. I am here to announce that it works.
Positive reinforcement makes it more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future. When given directly after an action, that particular response or behavior will be strengthened.
However, when raising kids this sometimes has the opposite effect of reinforcing bad behavior. How many times have you stood in a grocery store and seen a child act out? The parents response is to give in and let them get what they want or use the proverbial time out to no effect.
Children quickly learn that by acting out, they can gain attention from the parent or even acquire objects that they want. Essentially, parents are actually reinforcing the misbehavior. In this case, the better solution would be to use positive reinforcement when the child is actually displaying good behavior.
Life happens in real time
Within the dynamic of manager-employee, this is a great tool to create high performers within your domain. The problem is that we wait for the end of year or “scheduled” meetings to have this action take place.
However, life happens in real time and you can’t wait a week later to have this encounter. If organizations want to build a top flight organization, timely, positive reinforcement is the missing ingredient.
There is so much information written on the pros and con of performance reviews, but if you are looking for this tool to build a high performance culture, you need to go back to square 1.
A performance culture is built on day-to-day interaction.. If you think that you are going to walk into a room once a year and have a serious discussion, you need to relinquish your manager’s badge. As the comedian Dana Carvey would say, “Not gonna do it.”
Managers need to seize the moment
In the case of the sea lions, would they perform their daily routines if they had to wait till the end of the year to be told how they did? Can you see a trainer saying, “You know back in June you did not give it your all and the performance fell flat,” or “that project you completed a few months ago was awesome.”
As comical as that may seem, that is what goes on in so many organizations today as managers do not seize the moment..
A performance evaluation is an everyday process of interaction with your team, manager, or the organization. Getting this process right will instill in everyone that the daily interaction is the key to superior performance. This culture has to be created and can not be left to chance.
So many of the pillars of organizational superiority are going to have to be built or nurtured through this type of reinforcement. Nothing can be left to chance. When it is reinforced throughout the organization, you begin to build momentum, and reinforcement is needed for all of our processes to keep the fire alive. Otherwise, the embers will slowly burn out.
Flavors of the month
Over our careers, we have seen time and again all the fanfare that happens around a given initiative. But as time goes by, the brightness of the big launch dims, and eventually, the initiative is no longer salvageable.
When we have follow this process over a period of time, all of our succeeding initiatives simply become the next “flavor of the month.” To be successful, we need to reinforce our people as well as our initiatives.
Successful companies that zero in on a process such as employee engagement know that this is an ongoing journey. They know, and have successfully proven, that in order for it to be successful, they must use every opportunity to reinforce what is important.
Like the sea lion training, any new initiative must be reinforced each and every day.
When superior performance is ingrained
What will happen eventually is that your organization will get it and be in synch so that it becomes a part of the natural fabric. That, in turn, will begin to spread superior performance.
Championship caliber sports teams have superior performance ingrained in their entire organization. There is the sense throughout the organization that “we are good and we know we are the best at what we do.”
Once that feeling has permeated your culture, talent acquisition, retention, and market superiority become easier.
Better yet, your brand will speak for itself and everybody will want to be a part of it.
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