Years ago, when working as a Sales Manager at a hotel I had a manger who loved to give out "you could do better" oreo’s.
You know the kind, You did good here, BUT XXXXX, and you did good here. Anytime I saw them I knew an oreo was coming up and I never really remembered the good, just the big ol BUT.
A problem arose that no matter how they tried to show appreciation I was always on guard.
I never felt comfortable around them and was hesitant to ask for advice or how to solve a problem because I knew they would have something to say that I had done wrong or not the way they wanted it.
It was so discouraging and I didn’t feel valued.
As a leader you want your hotel staff to come to you with issues and solutions and to build that trust you need to remove your BUT.
You don’t have to have a BUT all the time, just some simple good words of affirmation on when you see a team member doing something right go a long way.
We crave words of affirmation innately and this will build a great amount of trust with your team.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t have oreo conversations but don’t give them out every time you see someone.
So today’s helpful tip is to remove the BUT and provide genuine support and a high five of appreciation without any needs for improvement.
