There is a phrase that can immediately make someone on your team nervous:
“Can I talk to you?”
Why?
Because in a lot of law firms, the attorney or manager only pulls someone aside when something is wrong.
A mistake was made.
A deadline was missed.
A client complained.
Something needs to change.
Do that long enough and you train your team to associate a conversation with leadership with one thing:
Bad news.
Then when you need to redirect someone, they walk into the conversation already defensive.
Take every opportunity to build the Praise Equity Reservoir.
Don't wait until something is wrong to talk to your people.
Meet with them when things are going right.
Tell them when they handled something well.
Acknowledge the effort.
Give the kudos.
Say thank you.
There will come a time when someone needs to be redirected.
That's leadership.
Redirection lands differently when the person receiving it already knows:
You see and value my work.
You recognize it when I get it right.
You aren't only looking for what I get wrong.
I know I'm part of the team.
You've built enough trust to say:
This needs to change.
Praise doesn't replace accountability.
It builds the trust that gives redirection somewhere to land.