Power Up

Use Praise to Generate Engagement

Mike, Foreman for an electrical contractor in Battle Ground, WA, told Session 8B of Turbo’s Leadership Development Lab (LDL):

“Toward the end of October, Ryan, a third-year apprentice, was helping with estimating in our office. A job included a generator rewire submittal and he asked me a few questions. I encouraged him with my thoughts and suggested he read the regulations code on generator installations. As he studied the code requirements, he discovered that our client’s application did not require a “life safety” system, which costs double the price of the “standby system” we would be installing. Now Ryan was able to put a proposal together in a manner that made intercepting CKTs in multiple locations a dream. Life safety installations require complete isolation. Ryan’s catch on the difference between applications easily saved us around $20,000 on this job. I told Ryan that his attention to detail and understanding of the owner’s goals was outstanding. I said ‘as you continue tackling challenges that come your way with this attention to detail and excellence, the sky is your only limit. Our company will benefit from this kind of attention to detail and by always looking out for the customer’s best interest, we will be assured the repeat business of a loyal customer.’ This simple process of giving praise is way more effective and up-building than just telling someone ‘good job’ or telling them they saved a lot of money. This way I am pointing out and reinforcing the qualities that drive the desired behavior.

“The lesson I learned from this experience is that with just a small amount of praise I can be a part of building my coworkers’ confidence and commitment to continued improvements in excellence!

“The action I call you to take is to use heartfelt praise that points to and calls forth the quality driven performance improvements you desire. This is a wonderful way to build a team to bring out their best so results exceed your highest expectations.

“The benefit you will gain is a team that wants to please you and be the best they can possibly be.”

Your job as an engaging leader is to power up everyone on your team. You will never do this with critique of any kind, ignoring is ignoble. Even simple compliments about work well done misses the opportunity Mike seized. He emphasized the quality of thoroughness and commitment to excellence that drove Ryan’s behavior. If you want to power up your team so they have standby energy to keep going when things get stormy, begin today to give heartfelt praise that calls forth the quality you want to see more of in your most valuable, irreplaceable resource, your people.

Advance Notice – Turbo’s Leadership Development Lab returning to Vancouver!

Turbo’s Vancouver Fall Leadership Development Lab (LDL) dramatically enhances your leadership team’s ability to give supportive feedback, build trust, gain respect, sell ideas, and empower others for improved results.

Turbo Leadership Systems® approach maximizes participation and minimizes interruption to work. Your managers, superintendents, foremen, crew leaders and staff make the biggest investment, the investment of their time. We make every moment matter, ensuring the time invested pays back dividends quickly and are sustained.

The next open enrollment LDL is scheduled to start shortly in Vancouver and we are also building a class in the Salem area.

Class size is limited, so call 503-691-2867 or email admin@turbols.com today!