By Shari Lifland
Why do people leave their jobs? The #1 reason is that
they don't feel appreciated. In fact, 65% of American workers say they
have received absolutely no praise on the job in the past year. Tom
Rath and Donald Clifton, executives with the Gallup Organization, wanted
to find out what impact positive interactions have on people’s lives—both
at work and at home. The result of that effort, How Full Is Your
Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life, is the first book
published by Gallup Press.
The book’s title comes from a tale of “the dipper and the bucket.” The idea is that each person carries around an invisible bucket and dipper. We constantly empty or fill each other’s buckets, depending upon whether we interact in positive or negative ways. The key is that filling someone else’s bucket (for example, by praising their efforts) benefits both the person who gives and the person who receives the praise. The authors' thesis is that the lessons learned from this simple parable have a profound impact on people’s productivity, relationships, health and happiness.
I spoke to How Full Is Your Bucket? co-author Tom Rath recently about his new book.
AMA: Your book is based on the principles
of positive psychology. What is it and how does it relate to your research?
Tom Roth: For centuries, psychologists
have studied what’s wrong with people in terms of trauma, illness, depression
and so on. Now they are finally starting to examine the impact of positive
events. And they are finding that these small, positive moments can
profoundly influence every aspect of our lives.
AMA: Who first came up with the theory of
the dipper and the bucket? Isn't it just a rephrasing of “it’s better
to give than to receive?”
TR: Not exactly. My grandfather and
co-author, Don Clifton, started using this metaphor in the 60s to simplify
his research and life’s work for other people. The primary purpose
of the metaphor was to illustrate how each and every interaction, whether
you're ordering at a fast food restaurant or having a long conversation
with a loved one, either adds to, or takes from, one’s bucket
of positive emotions.
AMA: Gallup’s research shows that 65% of workers
say they received no recognition on the job last year. What impact does
that have on the individual worker as well as on an organization as
a whole?
TR: It’s huge. On an individual level,
lack of recognition makes us miserable in our jobs. At an organizational
level, we’ve seen that giving people recognition decreases turnover
and improves customer satisfaction, employee engagement, safety and
most importantly, bottom-line productivity.
AMA: Why don't managers praise their workers
more often?
TR: One reason is that we simply
get caught up in the demands of the day, and another is that the importance
of recognition and praise is not clear to most managers and leaders.
That’s one reason why we wrote this book.
AMA: A two-part question: What can workers
stuck in bucket-draining environments do to improve their situations?
And what steps can managers/leaders take to create workplaces more prone
to bucket-filling?
TR: Same answer to both questions.
They need to start with themselves. The best way to turn things around
is to concentrate on eliminating some of the negative emotions in your
next few interactions. Then turn your attention to filling others' buckets
and watch what happens. Positive emotions are very contagious. And leaders
are in a unique position to infuse positive emotions into an entire
organization. One powerful leadership strategy is to catch people doing
things in an excellent manner and then call attention to what they are
doing right.
AMA: Most organizations have some kind of
reward and recognition program. Why aren't they working?
TR: Because the programs are not
individualized. What motivates me is very unlikely to motivate the next
person. Unless recognition and reward is tailored to the person’s unique
preferences, it will not work.
Even in organizations that have moved beyond generic
“Employee of the Month ” programs, leaders frequently fall
into the trap of recognizing others based on the type of recognition
they like to receive. Instead, recognition needs to be based
on what motivates each employee as an individual.
The key is to simply ask a few questions of the people you work with—do they prefer recognition that is public or private? Who do they want to receive recognition from? What tangible forms of recognition do they like? Armed with this basic knowledge, recognition can work for each and every person.
AMA: I once worked with a woman whose attitude
was so overwhelmingly negative that my secret nickname for her was “The
Eclipse,” because she seemed to block the sunshine every time she entered
a room. How can each of us deal with the “eclipses” in our lives? And
how can we safeguard our own buckets against the ravages of bucket dippers?
TR: This is a great story. I love
the eclipse analogy. Unfortunately, at one time or another we’ve probably
all worked with people like this. If you try your hardest and still
cannot bring a person around, then sometimes your only recourse is to
just steer clear of him or her, because otherwise they will being you
down with their sinking ship.
AMA: In the book, you recommend “reversing
the Golden Rule.” Can you explain?
TR: Yes, the key is to “do unto others
as they would have you do unto them.” Instead of recognizing
people based on what type of recognition you prefer, make
sure it is the type of recognition they want.
AMA: How do you respond to people who say
that all this talk of bucket filling is just too “touchy feely” to apply
to the workplace—that people are paid to do their jobs and it’s not
management’s place to hold their hands and make them feel good?
TR: I know that to some managers,
all of this sounds soft. But it is rooted in decades of hard science.
Not only is a person with a full bucket very different mentally and
physically, but he or she outperforms a person with an empty bucket
every single time.
Special Bonus: How much of a “bucket filler” are you? Click here to take a self-assessment to find out.
Learn more about how to recognize and reward employees at these AMA Seminars:
AMA On-site: Every one of AMA’s 170+ public seminars can be delivered on-site. This flexible, money-saving option allows you to train ten or more people, when and where you choose, at a low cost per participant.
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