“Remember, there are no bad crews, only bad leaders.”
-Master Chief John Urgayle, G.I. Jane
We can all think of some negative influence in our life; often it’s a person who thinks that negative reinforcement will somehow empower someone to be better. Have you ever worked for someone who only focused on the negative? Maybe it was a Manager who only notices mistakes or shortcomings and never has anything nice or positive to say. If you were ever to ask them why they do this, the universal answer is “I’m trying to make you better.”
Imagine that, trying to make someone better by making them feel worse!
I have had a few of these people in my life and I’m glad I no longer work with them. It’s no fun when someone only points out your shortcomings, but never highlights your accomplishments. You can’t beat someone down and then expect them to perform well.
Negative reinforcement only breeds self doubt, resentment and poor morale. And this leads to burnout, employee churn and failure.
In math two negatives make a positive, but this is not the case in real life. Motivation and success come through empowerment and positive reinforcement. Not through degradation and shame.
Here are some simple rules to know about life and emotional response:
- If a person lives with criticism, they learn to condemn.
- If a person lives with ridicule, they learn to be shy.
- If a person lives with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
But…
- If a person lives with encouragement, they learn confidence.
- If a person lives with praise, they learn to appreciate.
- If a person lives with approval, they learn to like himself.
These simple tenants come from a children’s poem, “Children Learn What They Live”, but it’s obvious these facts resonate throughout our entire lives. These are the foundations upon which we build ourselves and our psyches.
Leadership
A true leader leads by making those around them better, more empowered and more confident. A true leader doesn’t have to be the best at everything, they simply have to be the best at knowing how to get the most of our their teams. A leader leads by example and should be enabling you to be more efficient and more effective.
If you can’t trust that your leader has your back, or that they give you the proper resources and training to enable your success, then you cannot expect to be successful in your role. In fact, you will most likely end up as a scapegoat for when they are questioned by their boss(es).
Projecting your frustration onto others is always a losing philosophy; it’s trickle down theory at its worst.
Another important factor is that your clients will also feel the affects of such a culture on a sales team. People are inherently intuitive and if you don’t look excited to be representing your product you can’t expect them to get excited about it either.
At the end of the day, life is too short to work for bad people, especially in the hospitality industry. It’s stressful enough as it is!
May your best self be realized…and appreciated.
