[The fifth part of six on the "Five Myths about Managing People" from Lisa Haneberg's book, High Impact Middle Management.] 
Lisa says...
"Many positive reinforcement practices backfire, because they manage behavior, not optimize performance...
"The basic idea is that when employees receive positive reinforcement, they are likely to repeat the behaviors..."
"Here's the problem: When positive reinforcement is part of a deliberate practice, it comes across fake and manipulative. Employees see through these techniques and feel insulted rather than motivated."
I really have a hard time agreeing with Lisa on this one. When I started at Decade Software, most rarely received praise, but—sadly—negative reinforcement was everywhere.
The key to the problem Lisa describes is simply to not be a phony. Everyone needs feedback—positive and negative, but it should be constructive—and it must be real.
If your team is built on truth, trust, and transparency, all feedback will come from managers teammates that you trust. It will be honest—not fake or manipulative, and it will help you grow in your company and your career.
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