Practice “One-Minute Praisings” (Ken Blanchard)
Kenneth Blanchard recommends developing the practice of “one-minute praisings,” where the employer (or parent, spouse, etc.) tries to “catch someone doing something right” and then spend a full sixty seconds praising that person for the good deed. This is a lot more difficult than it appears. Where we might not find it difficult to criticize someone for even sixty minutes, many times we find it almost impossible to praise someone sincerely for a full minute. (In his book, The One-Minute Manager, Kenneth Blanchard)