Catch people doing things right

Most management attention goes to problems — systematically noticing good work is both rarer and more powerful.

Why it works

Negative attention is salient and immediate; positive attention is often assumed or delayed until formal occasions. When the feedback loop is asymmetric — correction is timely, praise is delayed or absent — people learn that performance is noticed only when it fails, which can paradoxically increase anxiety about performance and reduce discretionary effort. Deliberately noticing good work re-balances the feedback loop, which both reinforces the behavior and communicates genuine attention.

How to do it

1. Build a habit of actively looking for good work, not just for problems — most managers are already attuned to the latter.
2. At the end of each week, ask: "Who did something worth naming this week?" and act on the answer.
3. Be specific even in small praises: "The way you handled that question in the meeting" is more useful than "nice work today."
4. Resist saving recognition for exceptional performance — consistent good work deserves consistent recognition.

Evidence

The ratio of positive to negative interactions in relationships has been studied in couples and workplace research; higher ratios of positive to negative are associated with higher engagement and relationship quality. Catching people doing things right is the management implementation of this ratio principle. (observational)

The Gottman ratio (five positives to one negative) is from couples research; generalization to management contexts is plausible but the specific ratio is not validated in workplace settings. The principle of balancing correction with recognition is broadly supported.

Common mistake

Reserving recognition for outcomes (delivered the project) rather than behaviors (the specific way they handled the hard moment) — outcome praise is random (outcomes depend on many factors) while behavior praise is accurate and actionable.