Appreciative Coaching, i.e., Positive Reinforcement

Sometimes, when life just seems too much, I think back to the days of when I was still in school. No major worries except for tests, quizzes, group work, etc. Barely a financial worry since Mom and Dad took care of everything. :)

The quest for higher education always intrigued me. I remember when I was in Grade School, it was one of my goals in life to get my Master's Degree. In what, I didn't know then, just that I wanted to have one. Ahhh...the simplicity of life then, eh?

Even as "responsible adults" one should still continue our education. There are still a lot of things out there that we don't know. Things are always changing, evolving. In the business place, there is talk of Appreciative Coaching. I've come across this term in the sports world first. While dragon boating and rowing (sweeps and sculls), I was lucky enough to have male coaches who knew how to coach women.

With women, it is easier to get results if we are reinforced in a positive way. No screaming-in-our face, no swearing methods will work. Maybe on men, but definitely not on women. For women, we like to hear the positive things that we are doing. Things like good job, looking good, and way to go, are things that we women like to hear.

In my work in the HR department, I find that I can easily apply the principles of appreciative coaching as well. We help the employee focus on his or her goals and how he or she can follow a path to attain those specific goals. We don't dwell on the negative aspects (although they should be touched on and learned from, definitely) but instead reinforce the GOOD things that a particular employee has done. This in turn, makes the employee more productive and more conducive to working....all because of a few choice words of "great job you're doing."

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