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"Bring Out The Best In People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement".

By Aubrey C. Daniels

Reviewed by Fred L. Friend

(Published by McGraw-Hill, December, 1993, ISBN 007153582/5240-7330177-540766)

I like books that tell me "what to ..." and "how to ...". This book does that in a very practical way. "Bring Out The Best In People" -- isn't that the primary responsibility of every organizational leader? Would you like to better understand how to do that? Then read this book.

I first heard of Aubrey Daniels seven or eight years ago when a fellow training coordinator attended his workshop on "positive discipline". The process she described struck me as a powerful, adult oriented, replacement for the traditional, adversarial, disciplinary process that treats employees almost as enemies. The positive discipline approach taught a step by step process to explain the situation in clear adult terms (without the usual blaming, fault-finding, and judging), then stating what performance changes were expected to correct the situation (and test questioning to confirm understanding), and lastly a call for the employee to make their own choice about future behavior -- understanding the consequences of that choice.

I remember thinking how impactful this concept was -- the supervisor was no longer punishing employees -- he/she was communicating performance expectations and consequences. If the employee failed to perform, it was their choice to accept the consequences (i.e., the next step). It was liberating! The supervisor was no longer the school principal dealing out detention, suspensions, and expulsion.

In this book, he continues to base his performance management approach on the familiar A-B-C model:

• Antecedents (something that precedes behavior to get people to act e.g., a new goal),
• Behavior (what people do),
• Consequences (what happens in response to what people do).

It places special emphasis on reinforcers (consequences) and the role they play in generating more desired behavior and reducing undesired behavior. Sound like old stuff? Check it out -- many very common practices are discounted in this book as ineffective (i.e., they don't produce change) or even counter-productive.

For example, do goals and performance measures motivate people to perform? Not necessarily, goals and measurement are necessary, but insufficient. What happens when goals are met, or not met? To motivate positive change, there must be PIC (Positive - Immediate - Certain) consequences (also, find out about NICs).

There are so many similar learning points in this book, it would be tempting to just start sharing as many as possible in this space. But there are too many, and their relevance for you will differ based on what you are looking for. However here are a few samples.

• Don't blame people for inappropriate performance.
  They are doing what past, and expected, consequences have taught them to do. Understand what causes this behavior and re-design the consequences (reinforcement) to get the desired behavior. Isn't that more positive that blaming and punishing?
• We can't escape continuously reinforcing behavior -- whether we choose to do so by design or not.
  Extinction (i.e., behavior decreases) is the result of not giving positive recognition when appropriate. Dysfunction (i.e., inappropriate behavior) is the result of not giving corrective feedback when needed. Continuous Improvement is the result of positive reinforcement. What results are you getting?
• People increase desired behavior because they get positive reinforcement (i.e., a reward) or want to avoid negative reinforcement (i.e., getting in trouble for not doing it).
  Negative reinforcement only moves people just as far as they have to go to escape the heat. Positive reinforcement makes people want to increase performance -- they become committed to success. (Read about the 4-to-1 rule.)
• There are 5 indicators to watch for that suggest you may be a negative reinforcer.
  One example: does performance drop when performance in this area is no longer mandatory? (i.e., they were doing it just to avoid the negatives associated with not-doing it?)
• Four mistakes to avoid when reinforcing.
  One example: Frequency error -- annual performance appraisals or employee-of-the-month awards have no meaningful effect on employees' performance (except immediately preceding the "deadline").
• Rate individual performance improvement, don't force-rank.
  Give everybody a chance to be successful by rating their performance against performance standards -- for them! Don't rank people in competition with each other (unless you are the head of a fragile military junta who needs this strategy to stay alive). {Personal Soapbox Note: forced ranking your employee groups is a very destructive practice that causes 75 - 90% of your employees to feel like "less-than-winners"}. Reinforce improvement at all levels -- make everyone who is willing to show improvement a winner.
• Use valid measures that reflect desired behavior and make it visual.
  I have personally experience the power of graphing performance so people can watch the trend line change in response to their efforts. The graph itself, becomes a PIC reinforcer.
• Set Goals low, according to individual performance levels -- and raise them gradually. Set achievable starting goals to increase the odds of success and measure progress frequently. This allows celebration of success (recognition) and builds a stairway to higher goals. Initially setting "reach-for-the-stars" goals can be counterproductive. Will you be more successful trying to lose two pounds a week for 13 weeks, or drop 25 pounds in three months?

There are Seven Pillars of Positive Reinforcement that leaders should understand to successfully bring out the best in people.

1. Honest
2. Integrity
3. Equality and respect
4. Justice
5. Self-esteem and personal growth
6. Personal security
7. The Golden Rule

These seven pillars set the stage for both individual and organizational performance that values people, teamwork, and success.

This is just a sampling of the advice in this book. I appreciated what I saw because it confirms the most productive approach to improving performance is a coaching approach -- i.e., an approach based on communication, collaboration, and joint problem solving. It helps leaders adopt a new mind-set that lets them treat others as adults, who may need help -- recognizing and solving their own problems.

It is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to continue to increase their success as a "coach". Best of luck.

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Contact Matt Starcevich at matt@coachingandmentoring.com
Copyright 2009 Center for Coaching & Mentoring, Inc.