I work with all sorts of teams and people at all levels of seniority. I am a huge fan of providing feedback. I don’t give feedback as often as I know I should. I continuously remind myself that I need to do more and just how important feedback is. In particular, I fall into a common trap of only finding fault or seeing what I want to be different next time. I need to be reminded of the power of positive feedback.

Positive feedback is providing someone with positive reinforcement of something you want them to continue to do. I use a model of “behavior” and “consequences” in order to be sure the person knows specifically what they did and the impact of that behavior. I need constant reminder that so many things at work are going well and many people are doing good things. For example, when an engineer communicates a problem quickly and clearly to allow the team to address the problem. Or when an engineer asks about the impact of something on the deployment plan in a meeting that allows the release manager to prepare.

I can be guilty of sliding into a mindset that these behaviors are what I expect from senior engineers. I may not give positive feedback when in the moment because “they’re just doing their job." There is no reason not to give positive feedback. You may have a rock star who always does the right thing. You want her to hear that from you. You want her to know you notice. You want her to keep up the good work.

I was reminded recently by a colleague of the principle he holds true to “praise in public, criticize in private.” I agree public praise can be a motivator for a subset of your team. You certainly don’t need to wait until a public moment to provide positive feedback. It is also important to remember that not everyone is comfortable with public praise. There are some people on your team that will be embarrassed by the attention, and may prefer private positive feedback. There is no need to wait for a public moment to provide positive feedback one-on-one to your team member.

I remember hearing an observation that when your business is largely going well and your team is doing well, it means the individuals on your team are behaving as you need them to behave. Ensure you take the opportunity to reinforce all the ways they are doing well. Imagine continuously interacting with your team and telling them what they did right and how it helped the organization. Imagine continuously thanking your team for their contribution. The effect on your culture can be remarkable.

Provide positive feedback on behaviors that make your team more productive and deliver results. It will surely help your team know what behaviors you value. How do you provide positive feedback to your team? What change has that made in your team?