Applying C.P.R. - Not the Medical Kind

Focus: Employee Motivation, Performance Management, Management Success

Audio Lesson  - Duration: 3 mins. 21 secs.

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Applying C.P.R
Read time: appx. 2 mins.
Wc: 487 
Transcript - print now 

In this bite-audio lesson we’re going to be introducing a coaching and communication philosophy called C.P.R. That’s right C. P. R. Now I know you’ve heard of it in a different context – that is in the medical field, but it’s also a great technique and philosophy for managing a team and building great rapport with your employees.

So, what does CPR mean? CPR stands for – Compliments, Praise, and Recognition. Again - Compliments, Praise, and Recognition. Now there are three elements to applying, or administering CPR in the most effective way.

Those three elements include the following:

First,  you’d like for your CPR to be timely. That is to administer it at a time when it’s going to be the most meaningful. I don’t think it’s nearly as meaningful, or perhaps even motivating, to give someone a compliment six months, maybe a year out from when something was actually accomplished. So timely is very important.

Secondly, you want it to be specific. It’s very important to remember that when you give specific feedback, you’re actually reinforcing the desired behavior – both on a conscious level and also on a subconscious level. So you want it to be as specific as possible.

And then finally you want to be able to share some benefits of the behavior, the action or the outcome. So consider the benefits to you, the team, or even the company as you determine what benefits you want to share.

Here’s an example of how CPR might be applied. Sue’s an employee who is asked to compile quarterly sales figures for a client meeting. Sue took on that responsibility with a great attitude, and in fact the report was handed in on time, looked visually appealing, the numbers were laid out in such an effective way that it was very to read, and in fact made the client meeting go much smoother than expected.

As a side not, there are many cases throughout our workday when those kinds of things happen and the opportunity to apply a little CPR is missed. Sometimes it’s in the little things that actually have the biggest and most significant impact.

So here’s how a CPR conversation might go – “Sue, I really appreciate the work you did on that report. It was handed in on time, it looked great visually, and the numbers were laid out so well that the client meeting went much smoother than expected. Thanks again for a job well done. We all appreciate it – there was a lot less stress because of your work, and it helped to reinforce a good rapport with the client. Thanks again!

It’s amazing how just a little CPR can go such a long way. So I want to encourage you to begin to look for opportunities to apply a little CPR to your team.

Supporting lesson(s): Are you making deposits?, Managing is Conditioning

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