Praise loudly and blame softly

This months Blog provides a simple but often overlooked piece of advice to all Business Leaders and Owner-Managers, which should also be taken on-board by us all.

A quote that is attributed to ‘Catherine the Great’ goes something like ...“I like to praise and reward in a loud voice, and scold in a whisper”. Now not wishing to get side-tracked by the historical virtues of the Empress of Russia, the clear point in terms of Business Leaders is that this translates more easily into the fact that we should practice “Praising loudly and blaming softly”.

The impact of Covid-19 has in many cases caused huge changes within businesses, personal working requirements and social habits. Many years of natural change has been condensed into a matter of months.

The Bank of England’s latest updates retain a slightly less pessimistic tone than some might expect with interest rates at 0.1% and the UK recovery forecast to bounce back from the -9.5% forecast to pre-Covid levels by mid-end of 2021. However, unemployment rate is still set to rise to around 7.5% by the end of the year.

So to summarise August’s blog message, is to advise all Business Leaders, Directors and Owner-Managers that in periods of high change and increased anxiety for your staff that remembering to “Praise loudly and blame softly” may get a much better outcome than the traditional, outdated dictatorial and controlling blame culture we know so well.

Positive reinforcement is a powerful and under-utilised tool within the workplace.

For professional & practical Board Level Support, Business Planning, Succession Plans and more visit our services page or contact us using the form on our website.