Don’t leave them guessing.
Yesterday, I attended an assembly at my daughter’s elementary school. Administrators and educators took the stage defining character traits, providing behavioral examples, and recognizing students for exemplifying positive attributes. This initiative is called the Positivity Project.
The assembly reminded me of a post I wrote last year on how organizations can learn from elementary school character development programs. You can check it out here.
My takeaway yesterday was that students are not left guessing as to how they should behave. They learn about attributes. They are taught behaviors that represent each attribute. Also, they are publicly praised when they act accordingly (and they are provided constructive feedback when they do not!). If students were left guessing as to how they should act, well…I am sure you can imagine what might happen.

It should be no different for our organizations and teams. People need to know what attributes are valued, why those attributes are important, and what behaviors represent those attributes in context. Positive behaviors should be acknowledged and praised publicly.
Teach people in your organization about attributes and behavior early and often. Don’t leave them guessing.
