start with the good

If you have a team that reports to you (paid staff or volunteers) you job is to help empower, train, and equip them to become the best team they can possibly be. We very rarely see ourselves as coaches. We have a team, we have a goal, and we have to lead our team to accomplish the goal. Sure we are leaders but we are coaches at the same time. When things are not going well we feel the pressure as the team leader. Many times we have to pull our team aside and help solve the issue...well we constantly have to do this. Correction, training, and guidance are just a natural part of our job so we have to get better at it. In your team meetings or event evaluations let me give you one piece of advice...

START WITH THE GOOD!

I don't care who your team is, they long to hear what they did well. They need to hear what they are good at, and when a team hears where they excelled they are more open to deal with what needs to be corrected. As leaders we can't be so focused on perfection that we miss the good that is happening all around us. Even when things go wrong there has to be something good that went down even if it is only that the team tried hard to address the problem.

Look for the good and let your team know when they excel. Celebrate the victories because a team that learns to look for the positive also discovers how to learn from their mistakes. Never forget to start with the good!