For many of us, this time of year brings a mixed set of emotions.  The sunset of summer is upon us, fall sports are getting into full swing, and the anxiousness of a new academic year begins.  In addition, leaders across a variety of organizations are working to fine tune plans to execute on a strong close to the year.   At this time of year, I am sure we can all find ourselves in some position to positively influence those around us as they address their unique situation.

The topic for today is to provide some insight into how we can be most effective in providing encouragement to those around us as they face their unique situation during this time of year.

There has been a fair amount of research done on the importance of the principle of encouragement.  Most of the research has been done on how to provide encouragement and praise for positive behaviors and performance.  In addition, if we look into our own experience, we probably find ourselves relatively comfortable in providing encouragement to others when they are doing well.

The real challenge for both academic research and our own practical needs is in the area of providing encouragement to improve performance when someone falls short:

• When a child does not perform well in school or does not deliver on a particular activity.
• When an employee fails to meet expectations.
• When someone close to us simply misses the mark.

We all know that there is a critical moment in time when feedback is delivered that heavily influences the next steps for an individual.  When we do it well, chances are the individual will more forward to raise his/her performance. When we do it poorly, we create a greater problem by undermining an individual’s confidence and self-esteem.

A team of research psychologists from several leading institutions collaborated on some work to determine effective techniques to provide feedback that would encourage individuals to raise their performance. Without going into all the study details (if you wish, here is the study), they studied middle school teachers and the process to provide feedback on student performance.  What they learned can help all of us in our roles as parents, teachers, coaches, and business leaders to leverage the principle of encouragement in times when performance falls short.

The researchers found one particular statement that provided encouragement to significantly improve student effort and performance that they called it “magical.”  After some heavy statistical analysis on a number of different variables, the teachers that used this one statement saw incredible results with their students.  The statement that made the difference was “I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.”

Just this one simple statement, delivered in that critical moment in time when constructive feedback was communicated, made all the difference in encouraging an individual to do better.

There are some key insights from this research and this “magical” statement that we can apply to the various roles we play to provide encouragement to those around us to improve performance and reach their full potential.

(1)    The statement helps to meet an important need in all of us; the need to know we belong. Recipients felt the teacher cared about them and in turn, they felt a sense of belonging during this important point of receiving critical feedback on their performance.

(2)    The statement communicates clarity around expectations; we have high standards.  The vast majority of us, when provided clear direction, no matter how difficult the task, will deliver.

(3)    The statement communicates a strong belief in the individual; I know you can do it.  Communicating a “validation” to someone else that they “have what it takes” to deliver is a tremendous encouragement to keep any one of us moving forward in our journey.

A critically important role we can all play is in helping others reach their full potential.  As we work hard to more effective use the principle of encouragement, we build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® to help others improve their performance and reach their hopes and dreams.