Every manager should read this book

How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, is based on the simple metaphor of a bucket and a dipper. Each of us has a bucket that is continually filled or drained by our interactions with other people. Positive encounters fill us up, and negative encounters drain us.

Among the authors' key points:

• The Number One reason people leave their jobs is they don't feel appreciated.
• Praise must be meaningful and specific.
• Recognition is most appreciated and effective when it is individualized, specific, and deserved.
• We are at our best when our buckets are full, and at our worst when they are empty.
• Every interaction is an opportunity to fill someone's bucket — or drain it.
• When we fill other people's buckets, we simultaneously fill our own.

Like parents who focus on the F's on a report card rather than the A's, many managers focus on critiquing weaknesses rather than developing strengths.

Mind you, it's not possible to simply offer groundless praise. As the authors note, "positivity must be grounded in reality." They cite the pointlessness of "Employee of the Month" programs, because inevitably — in the interests of "fairness" — every employee gets one. I've also seen workplaces where the award just moves about between a select few high performers, which may be more honest but doesn't do anything to lift up the mid-level performers.

Every worker has room for improvement. But consider a method used by many writers' groups, including the one I belong to. It's called the "sandwich method," though being a bookish person, I prefer to think of it as bookends.

Start with a genuine compliment, then give constructive feedback on what needs fixing, then end with more praise for strong points. Employees, like students, and writers, need to build on their strengths in addition to improving their weaknesses.

Individualization is important, because while one worker may appreciate a plaque to hang on the wall, another might prefer some extra time off to spend with family. To aid in this, the book includes a "Bucket Filling Interview," which can help managers learn about what really motivates each employee.

How Full is Your Bucket? will not only help managers encourage employees, it will help anyone see where they've been missing opportunities to fill other people's buckets.