How can I be a good manager? Leading with the carrot instead of the stick

In the Carrot Principle, author Chester Elton draws on one of the most in-depth management studies ever conducted to definitively show that the key to getting the most out of your employees is frequent and effective recognition.
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4 Key Principles:
Goal Setting
Recognition and reward - for reaching goals . This ties the other 3 principles together.
Trust
Accountability


Goal setting is accelerated by rewarding activities that move employees closer to the goal.
Recognition & Reward
If a company wants speed, it rewards employees who provide quick responses.
If the goal is accuracy, it recognizes those who perform with a minimal margin of error.
And what more effective way to communicate company values and desired behavior than to recognize and reward it preferably in public.

Trust
Recognition also accelerates trust; because when you publicly recognize an employee that employee and everyone else instantly see that you can be trusted to share the credit.

Accountability
And by recognizing accomplishments and milestones toward larger goals, you're letting employees know in a very positive way that they're being held accountable for the overall success of the project.

How can you make recognition an integral part of your company?
Performance--something like an outstanding sales achievement;
Career recognitions--employee's date of hire, their anniversary.
Celebration events--maybe the company Christmas party;
.Day to day recognition-- That's the pat on the back, the team lunches, the small gifts of thanks you offer on a regular basis that praise and express gratitude to employees.

This recognition is often low cost but always high touched and that's something you can do right away.

Day to day recognition must be frequent, specific and timely. I recommend keeping a recognition frequency log like this one for my book, so you can be sure you're keeping up with everyone.

Always make praise specific.
General praises like thanks everyone for your hard work or you rock are useless. Thanks relating specifically to what the employee did and how it was helpful has tremendous impact.

Immediate recognition shows you are paying attention; and value the contribution. Just think of how your spouse feels when you miss a birthday or an anniversary by just one day.

Meaningful Recognition
It's important to remember that recognition always has more impact if the reward is something meaningful to the recipient. So take the time to learn what each employee values. What are their hobbies, interests, career goals?

Remember, effective recognition is frequent, specific and timely.