9.
ALLOW THEM THE FREEDOM TO FAIL

It doesn’t take a genius to praise people when they do a great job. Even poor leaders are smart enough to do that.

The ideaist looks for ways to praise them when they fail. For this is when people are most vulnerable. This is when their self-images can take a nosedive.

Remember, one of the reasons good people are good is that they believe in themselves and in their ideas, they take chances, they swing for the fences. Criticize them or make no comment when they strike out, and they’ll start trying to punch the ball into right field.

When they go for broke, praise them for the effort, for trying to do something others might not even attempt, whether they hit the ball or not.

I realize that this advice flies in the face of that old management dictum that you should “never confuse efforts with results.”

But results seldom happen without effort. And my experience with creative people convinces me that if you don’t acknowledge and praise effort, it will eventually wither like an unwatered flower.