The Power of Positive Reinforcement

There's an old Japanese proverb that states, "The teacher opens the door. You must enter by yourself."

As coaches, how can we get our athletes through the door?

I want to get them through two doors:

First, developing the habits and processes necessary for them to develop themselves as best they can individually.

Secondly, developing those same habits and processes, in addition to our team culture values and principles so they can help be a driver to building the environment we want. This in turn will help the coaching staff help every other player walk through each door more easily!

How can we most effectively do this to optimize individual development and team culture simultaneously?

In the book Hidden Potential, the author Adam Grant goes to great lengths to show evidence that the greatest force in daily motivation is progress!

With this knowledge, I think it's important as coaches to catch athletes doing it right. Before I get into the power and necessity of aggressive positive reinforcement, I need to discuss the other side of the coin - which is equally important.

If you talk to my coaches you know a major pillar of our culture is: "If you allow it, you encourage it." We must set the standard. We don't need to be ruthless, but we must certainly be rigorous in upholding that standard in all things.

Jocko said it best: "When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable - if there are no consequences, poor performance becomes the new standard. Therefore, leaders must enforce standards."

So, with all that said, it's really easy to come to the conclusion that the way to uphold standards is by yelling and enforcing consequences.

While I do believe these strategies are undoubtedly necessary at times, you cannot overlook the power of positive reinforcement in terms of both developing team culture, and individual habits and skill development.

CATCH THEM DOING IT RIGHT!

Go out of your way to get fired up about it. Go out of your way to let athletes know when you notice them doing things properly or if you see improvement!

Lastly, don't be afraid to go out of your way to encourage your athletes after they come up short. Sometimes they absolutely do need tough love, and other times they need some support and a feeling that their coach believes in them.

"A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success."

Happy Thursday!