What You Water Will Grow: The Power of Positive Reinforcement
As an educator, one lesson has proven universal across every environment I’ve stepped into—classroom, boardroom, or breakroom: what you water and nourish will grow. This simple metaphor, rooted in both pedagogy and psychology, holds immense power for leaders and professionals. Whether you're managing city departments, building relationships with constituents, or guiding a team through complex projects, the principles of positive reinforcement offer a framework for cultivating healthy, productive, and sustainable environments. Just as a plant thrives with attention, consistency, and care, so too do people and organizations flourish when their strengths are recognized and nurtured.
Cultivating the Soil: Building a Culture of Positive Feedback
In classrooms, educators know that behavior blooms under the right conditions. Students often repeat behaviors that are acknowledged and praised. Research indicates that positive reinforcement, especially when specific and immediate, improves student engagement and academic success1. The same is true in workplaces across every industry. Recognition programs, peer-to-peer acknowledgments, and meaningful supervisor feedback lead to higher morale and retention among public and private sector employees2.
But the secret is in the specificity. Saying "good job" is like tossing water into the wind. A comment like, "Your thorough report on stormwater infrastructure helped us avoid a major budget overrun," is like watering the roots directly. It encourages repeat behavior, builds confidence, and shows the individual their contributions matter. According to a study in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, employees who received specific, positive feedback reported 31% higher levels of job satisfaction3. When the soil is rich with appreciation and encouragement, resilience and innovation take root.
Weeding Early: Addressing Negative Patterns Before They Take Over
Every gardener knows the danger of letting weeds go unchecked. In behavior management, this means addressing harmful or unproductive behaviors before they spread. In classrooms, we use redirection—guiding students away from negative behaviors by offering them a more positive alternative. For example, instead of reprimanding a student for talking out of turn, a teacher might ask them to lead a short discussion, turning disruption into leadership.
This principle is transferable to organizational teams. When a staff member monopolizes meetings or resists collaboration, managers can redirect by assigning them a research and feedback role or inviting them to co-lead a task force. These opportunities provide a structured path to reframe behaviors while empowering the individual. Research supports this approach: early intervention and redirection reduce disciplinary actions and improve group cohesion in both educational and organizational settings4.
Routine Care: Systems, Structures, and Consistency
Plants don’t thrive from occasional attention. They need regular watering, sunshine, and care. The same goes for classrooms and companies. Systems and schedules—like weekly team check-ins, performance reviews, and skill-building workshops—create the consistency that allows people to grow with confidence.
Leaders often face high turnover and burnout. A 2021 report by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) found that cities with consistent feedback systems and employee development plans had 27% higher employee retention5. These structures, much like a gardener’s routine, create predictability and trust, which are the foundation of a healthy workplace culture.
Fertilizing Innovation: Novel Experiences and Creative Growth
Even the best soil can become depleted. Sometimes, new nutrients are needed to spark growth. In education, we introduce novel experiences like new projects, field trips, or guest speakers to reignite curiosity. In other settings, this might look like cross-department collaborations, innovation labs, or professional development retreats.
In 2020, the city of Boston implemented a “Civic Innovation Challenge” that encouraged municipal employees to propose creative solutions to urban problems. The result was a surge in employee engagement and several successful pilot programs6. These novel experiences are not frivolous; they act as fertilizer, feeding creativity, collaboration, and a sense of shared purpose.
Appreciating the Process: Celebrating Small Wins
Gardening is not just about the harvest. Watching a seed sprout or a bud bloom is a reward in itself. In management, focusing only on final outcomes—budget balancing, project completion, or election cycles—can lead to burnout and disengagement. It’s important to celebrate small wins: a well-executed town hall, a resolved citizen complaint, or a department’s improved response time.
According to a study in the Harvard Business Review, teams that recognized and celebrated incremental progress were more productive and more cohesive than those that did not7. These small victories are milestones that build momentum and morale, reinforcing the behaviors and choices that led to success.
Patience and Observation: The Role of Reflection
Just as a gardener must observe sunlight patterns and soil conditions, leaders benefit from slowing down to reflect. Are certain behaviors or patterns indicating that a need is unmet? Are we watering what we want to grow, or are we accidentally feeding the weeds?
The practice of reflective supervision—common in education and social work—is gaining traction in management. This involves regular, structured time to discuss challenges, analyze reactions, and identify growth areas. It cultivates emotional intelligence and thoughtful decision-making8. Reflection allows leaders to remain open-minded and adaptive, essential traits in the ever-changing landscape of governance.
Relationships First: The Foundation of Sustainable Growth
Underneath all the systems, feedback, and innovation lies one essential truth: nothing grows without relationships. The bond between people is what determines the success of any initiative. Positive reinforcement is not manipulative—it’s relational. It communicates, “I see you. I value you. I believe in your potential.”
In government, where public service often feels thankless, a culture of appreciation can transform workplace dynamics. Trust, collaboration, and mutual respect make even difficult projects more manageable. A study from the University of California found that teams with high relational trust were 42% more likely to meet their performance goals9. Relationships are the soil in which everything else grows.
Failure as Fertilizer: Learning Through Setbacks
Failure isn’t the end—it’s compost. When a classroom lesson flops, I ask, “What can I learn from this?” The same applies to missed deadlines, flawed policies, or community pushback. These moments are rich with nutrients if we choose to dig in and learn.
Encouraging teams to reflect on failure not as blame but as opportunity leads to more resilient and innovative organizations. Psychological safety—the freedom to fail without fear of punishment—has been linked to better performance and higher employee satisfaction10. Let your setbacks decompose into understanding and future success.
What Will You Choose to Water?
Leadership is a garden of complexity. Every choice—to recognize or criticize, to observe or ignore, to redirect or punish—feeds something. The question is: what are you feeding? Are you nurturing a culture of growth, trust, and innovation? Or are you letting weeds take root, unchecked and unintended?
As an educator, I’ve seen the transformative power of positive reinforcement across all ages and environments. It works not because it’s soft, but because it’s smart. It aligns human behavior with intentional outcomes. It grows people, and people grow communities and organizations. So, leaders, what will you water today?
Sources
Allday, R. Allan, and Kathleen Pakurar. "Effects of Teacher Greetings on Student On-Task Behavior." Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 40, no. 2 (2007): 317–320.
Bakker, Arnold B., and Evangelia Demerouti. "Job Demands–Resources Theory: Taking Stock and Looking Forward." Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 22, no. 3 (2017): 273–285.
Bono, Joyce E., and Theresa M. Glomb. "The Influence of Positive Affect and Job Satisfaction on Organizational Citizenship Behavior." Journal of Organizational Behavior 25, no. 2 (2004): 123–138.
Colvin, Geoff. "Positive Behavior Support in Classrooms and Schools: Effective and Practical Strategies for Behavior Management." Education and Treatment of Children 30, no. 1 (2007): 1–4.
International City/County Management Association. "Leadership and Employee Engagement in Local Government." ICMA Reports, 2021.
LeRoux, Kelly, and Mary K. Feeney. "Nonprofit Organizations and Civil Society in the United States." Routledge, 2015.
Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer. "The Power of Small Wins." Harvard Business Review, May 2011.
Tseng, Vivian, and Heather R. Hill. "Instructional Leadership and Emotional Support: Reflective Supervision in Education." American Educational Research Journal 48, no. 3 (2011): 586–619.
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Edmondson, Amy C. "Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams." Administrative Science Quarterly 44, no. 2 (1999): 350–383.