Dr Rob's Secrets of Success at Work

END OF THE BLOG!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:02:00 +0000

Thank you to those of you who continue to read this blog. However, I have now discontinued adding new content to this blog.

If you wish to keep up with my books, TV shows and other news by following me at Twitter: @robyeung

I also update the News section of my official website www.robyeung.com occasionally.

Many thanks!

Rob

TV channel triple threat

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:52:00 +0000

October is televisually a busy month for me, with me appearing on three channels:

Pete's PA started on the Living channel last Monday 8th October and runs for ten weeks. On that show, I'm helping celebrity Pete Burns to find a new personal assistant to run his life. And my role as one of his panel is to separate the rubbish wannabes who only want to be his PA to get famous from the decent candidates who I think could do the job.
The Restaurant: You're Fried is coming to a close on BBC3. Over the past few months, we've seen various couples compete for the chance to set up their own business in partnership with Michelin-starred restaurateur Raymond Blanc. And, in analysing the dynamics of the various competitors, I have to say I've learned a lot about the restaurant trade - at least I'm 100% sure I don't want to run a restaurant!
And in a couple of weeks I'm going to be on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, the BBC2 show that analyses the off-screen action as the contestants gear up for the live BBC1 shows every Saturday. I'm going to ask the contestants to complete psychometric tests so that I can delve further into their personalities...

Oh, and my new website www.robyeung.com is up and running too - to lure those TV producers and conference producers in... - so if you know a TV producer who is looking for a psychologist, you know where to send them...

Should I sleep with the boss?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 09:09:00 +0000

It's a rhetorical question of course, as I'm not suggesting that anyone should try to sleep with their boss in order to get ahead.
But I do get asked lots of questions all the time that amount to the same thing: 'What do I need to do in order to get ahead at work?'

So here are my three top tips:

Realise the success at work fundamentally comes down to relationships. If people don't like you and want to work with you, it doesn't matter how technically gifted you are at the work - you won't get ahead.
Make a career plan. Don't assume that you'll get promoted. Too many people drift in their careers. If you want to achieve anything in your career, set yourself a goal for the next 12 to 18 months and then break that goal down into sub-goals to achieve on a month-by-month basis. Top managers and entrepreneurs know what they want and make plans to achieve them - are you doing the same?
Spend 5 minutes at the end of every day thinking and planning your activity for the next day. Don't get too bogged down in your day-to-day tasks. At the end of each day, ask yourself: 'What must I do tomorrow that will make a difference to my boss, the team, and my career?' Keeping your eye on the bigger picture and your longer-term career goals will help you to avoid getting bogged down in your daily grind of your work.

Incidentally, the cover is a work in progress. My publisher is currently finalising the book jacket for publication in Oct/Nov - so the final cover may change yet again before it hits the shelves!

Dr Rob on TV (again)

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:23:00 +0000

BBC2 is preparing to launch a new TV series called The Restaurant, which will run for eight weeks from Wednesday 29th August 2007. In the new show, which will run twice a week on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc puts nine couples through their paces to choose one couple who will win the opportunity to open a restaurant with his personal backing and £100,000 of investment. One couple will get eliminated each week.

On Thursday evenings after the show, BBC3 will be running a show tentatively called 'The Restaurant: You're Fried' (a pun on 'Fired', I think) featuring the eliminated couple. And I'll be the providing some psychological insight into their personalities - so look out for me then.

Oh, by the way, I've been working with a web designer to launch a new website with some background information about me. There are only two pages there - and I plan to use it to help TV producers understand a bit about me when they're thinking about casting a TV psychologist (i.e. someone like me!). I'm not aiming it at people looking for career and business advice (which is what I try to do through this blog), but the site is up and running at www.robyeung.com - have a look and let me know what you think!

The pain of having to network at work

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:16:00 +0000

Not everyone likes to network. But that doesn't mean that it is not darned important.
Someone recently asked me for advice on their situation:

I've never been the world's most social person but I've just joined a new company in a line manager role where social networking seems almost as important as the job itself. I feel really uncomfortable in this environment. Golf has never interested, so that already puts me at a handicap, while hanging out at the local pub for a pint just isn't my idea of fun either. I'd much rather get back to the wife and kids and it's a long drive home. However, I guess that I'm going to need some level of social involvement and to play the game or I won't be seen a team player. Any advice appreciated.

To cut a long story short (and at the risk of sounding simplistic), I advised him that he has three broad choices:

Get involved in networking if you want to succeed. Realise that many important workplace decisions are made as much on the basis of how much other people like you as how much they rate you.
Quit and find a company that is more in tune with your personal values. If you hate having to socialise with people at work, then make it your medium-term goal to find an organisation where you don't have to force yourself to socialise with people you don't want to socialise with.
Avoid the social networking and let your career stagnate. But that's not much of a third choice really, is it?

To read my full response, click through to the Management Issues website.

The voice of reason

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 10:16:00 +0000

My publisher Cyan/Marshall Cavendish asked me to record a podcast a few weeks ago, which has just been put onto itunes.

The podcast is a 20-minute discussion in which the interviewer asks me to provide various tips on the topics of office politics, job hunting, entrepreneurship, and networking. So if any of those topics interest you then you might like to download the podcast.

Now I'm not a terribly computer savvy person, but I believe you just tap in the words 'cyan marshall cavendish' into the search box of itunes and it should come up with the podcast's location. Even if you don't have itunes, you can download it for free. There's also a bunch of other podcasts by other authors in the Cyan/Marshall Cavendish stable too - so you can learn about other topics ranging from cold calling customers to giving great presentations.

I hope you get a chance to download my podcast - it'll be a chance for you to hear my thoughts rather than read about them for a change!

Dealing with difficult people

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:12:00 +0000

We often hear people talking about their "difficult colleagues" or "difficult customers". However, here's a tip for learning to deal with difficult people.

For starters, stop referring to them as difficult people - because that makes it sound like a personality fault of theirs. Refer instead to the precise behaviours that make them difficult.

For example, rather than saying "she's too talkative" (an adjective which implies something about her personality) say instead: "she is talking too much" (which describes a behaviour that you can therefore tackle). Or if someone is not telling you the whole truth, avoid saying "he's a liar" - instead say: "he is not telling me the whole truth".

To sum up, use behaviour words rather than personality words. Then when you decide to ask the advice of other colleagues or even decide to speak to the person who is causing you difficulty, you can tackle their behaviour (which can be changed) rather than their personality (which can't be changed).

Office politics: Just do it

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:24:00 +0000

Office politics gets a bad rep. But I consider it one of my missions in life to convince people two things:

That you will make it harder for yourself to thrive within your organisation without playing the political game.
That politicking isn't necessarily 'bad'. You can be political and ethical too.

I was recently asked to contribute as part of a panel of experts to an article in a business magazine on the topic. Click here if you want to download the pdf file and read it (it's short and to the point!)

Dr Rob and the (ex) popstar/celebrity - part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:24:00 +0000

I'm in the middle of filming Pete's PA, this series with Pete Burns, ex-Dead or Alive lead singer. And I have to say I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Pete Burns is actually such a lovely guy. He comes across on television as such a mean, critical, bitchy person. But that's only his on-screen persona. In real life, he can be smutty and picky. But he can be genuine, friendly, and vulnerable too - oh, and great fun too.

I won't say too much, because that would feel like a betrayal of how honest and unguarded he has been with him. But it was quite unexpected to discover that the real Pete is nothing like the on-screen Pete. But to me it does illustrate that you should never believe what you see on television. Even reality television is not always a true reflection of reality! Bear that in mind the next time you watch a reality show!

Should I tell the truth on my CV?

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:04:00 +0000

One of my next books is called Should I Tell the Truth?

So I was interested this morning to read about a top executive at InterContinental Hotels being fired for having lied about the qualifications on his CV.

Patrick Imbardelli had worked for 25 years in the hotel industy. He had claimed to have three qualifications - a bachelor of business degree from the University of Victoria in Australia, and a BSc and a masters of business administration, both from Cornell University in the US.

In fact, he had only attended classes at both universities in the 1980s - but he never received any qualifications!

To me, this says two things. Firstly, of course it's bad to be caught lying on your CV. Secondly though, it illustrates how easy it is to get away with lying. He had managed to lie about his qualifications for 25 years and risen to nearly the very top of his industry! It was only because he was about to rise to the main board of InterContinental Hotels that he got caught out - if he'd had a more ordinary career, he would probably have got away with it for life.

So if there's a lesson here - it's either not to lie or not to get caught anyway!

Dr Rob and the (ex) popstar/celebrity - part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 09:23:00 +0000

The 10 contestants for the job of Pete's PA moved into a house together in north London yesterday.

The contestants were terrrrribly excited and there was lots of squealing as the girls all picked the bedrooms they wanted. It was interesting to watch as some of the smarter girls are already picking their 'best friends' - i.e. other contestants that they think are strong competition and so they want to keep them close. You know what they say: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!

It's too early for me to have any favourites yet. But there are immediately already a few who are trying to hard and starting to get on my nerves!

Networking: A favourable review

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 09:18:00 +0000

I just came across this review today. Here's what a reviewer wrote about one of my books from last year, The Rules of Networking:

Networking, one of the most essential skills that is most highly sought after by all professionals hoping to progress in their chosen career path, or as stepping stones to land themselves in a new career. Hence, this book can be seen as a solution and answers to all the questions that you have on effective networking.

Unlike traditional, long-winded management tomes, this book is a short, step-by-step alternative which is designed to steer you safely through the unprdictable battlefield of modern working life, and more importantly to help you to attain what you want!

In this book, management guru, Dr Rob Yeung, expertly explains exactly how to network your way to the top. This easy-to-follow guide is packed not only with hints and tips, as well as advice on how to hecome the center of attention, how to ensure your fellow networkers pocket, rather than bin your business card, and how to build relationships in which people will be falling over themselves to help you achieve your goals. Rob Yeung will show you the methods on how to be a step closer to your dream goals.

Review:

Like what the sypnosis has described, the information is cut into bite size and hence, instead of being overwhelmed by the flood of information in those chunky manuals, readers will find this book easy to digest and the techniques simple to apply.

Knowing how to networking effeciently is a very crucial way to be ahead of others in today's society, which is awashed with information and knowledge. If you are unable to stand out among your peers, and make lasting impressions on others, you will find that very soon, in time to come, you will just be part of the backdrop of the society, unnoticable.

So go on, read the book!

The Rules of Entrepreneurship hits the shelves - June 2007!

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 18:39:00 +0000

I just received confirmation from my publisher that my latest book, The Rules of Entrepreneurship, hits the shelves this month!

It's packed with advice for anyone who wants to set up their own business. And one of the co-founders of The Mind Gym, Sebastian Bailey read it and said that: 'This book captures the true essence of what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur.'

I'm proud of the book and I hope you find it informative and inspiring too!

Dr Rob and the (ex) pop star/celebrity

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Sun, 20 May 2007 08:34:00 +0000

Well, I'm going to be back on television. After doing Jade's PA last year, I've been invited back by Living TV to do a new series: Pete's PA.

The 'Pete' in question is Pete Burns, ex-frontman for 80s pop band Dead or Alive, and now fully-fledged celebrity. The media love to loathe him, but I think he's a bit of a sweetie.

I was a bit apprehensive about doing the series because Pete has a bit of a reputation for being foul-mouthed and unpleasant. But you never can trust what you read in the papers, so I thought I'd at least go meet him.

To cut a long story short, he's actually quite likeable. (Sorry if I'm shattering any media-created delusions about him). So I've signed up for a few months of PA madness. Basically, he currently uses his live-in partner as a PA. But they're getting married soon so Pete wants a proper PA to take over the duties.

Anyway, I'm filming the new series over the summer, so will report back occasionally...

The human animal

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:17:00 +0000

There's been a lot of coverage over the resignation of Lord Browne, one of the most highly rated business people in Britain over his lies to cover up his private life. I was asked by The Observer newspaper to comment on what drives successful people to have such lapses.

How brilliant men can be undone by power

Lord Browne resigned because he lied to a court about a trivial thing: the manner of his meeting Jeff Chevalier - a terrible error of judgment for a man in whom 97,000 employees and 1.2 million shareholders placed their trust. Why did he do it?

Psychologists point to several possible reasons: the isolation experienced by leaders at the top of big organisations; the pressure they are placed under; the effect of holding power in one's hands and the lack of restraining influences.

Browne was known as the 'Sun King' of the oil industry, a reference to Louis XIV of France, an absolute monarch who surrounded himself with fawning courtiers at the palace he built at Versailles. Like Louis, Browne was known at the highest levels in the capitals of Europe. Browne was also well received in the US and the UK, where he was on terms with the Prime Minister close enough to allow BP to be dubbed 'Blair Petroleum'.

But he was reputed, also like Louis, to be a man to whom it was unpleasant to take bad news.

Rob Yeung, a director at Talentspace, a leadership consultancy, says: 'The type of judgment you are asked to make changes as you move up an organisation. Low down an organisation, you are given much more discrete, less ambiguous problems to deal with. As you move up, there are fewer right and wrong answers.'

So what causes someone capable of dealing with these complicated decisions to make such an obvious error of judgment? Emma Farnsworth, an occupational psychologist from Blue Edge Consulting says: 'There is huge pressure if you are in the role of leader. The more successful you are, the more you expect from yourself - and the more others expect from you.'

There were few who seemed outwardly able to cope with this better than Browne in his heyday. But Yeung says: 'However much we delude ourselves to the contrary, the truth is that human beings are animals. We have quite ancient parts of our brains that control instincts like fight or flight. When things are going well, you make rational decisions, but the moment you are under pressure your dark side can come out.

' Lord Browne was a very private individual. His private life was very sensitive and it caused him to think irrationally rather than rationally.'

You can read the rest of the (fairly lengthy) piece here.

Finding your passion at work

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Thu, 03 May 2007 12:27:00 +0000

I contribute to a website on management issues. The editor asked me to answer a question posed by one of their readers:

My wife is pressurizing me to earn a higher salary by finding another job but I want to do just the opposite. After 15 years in middle management I'm constantly tired and have long lost the zest I used to have for work. Can you offer any support/advice?

My response started:

If your wife wants a bigger salary, suggest that she goes and finds a higher paying job!

Click here to read the rest!

Busy, busy, busy

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 23:41:00 +0000

I haven't blogged in a while as I'm simply being crushed by weight of work recently. It's 12.40am on a Sunday night and I've spent most of the weekend working - coaching on Saturday morning and writing various books yesterday and all day and evening today.

Not that I'm complaining - I'm just explaining why I haven't blogged in a while. I like being busy - and by the end of May I'll have finished two more books so my workload will become a bit lighter. On the other hand, I'm in the final stages of negotiation with a different publisher, Kogan Page, to write a book for them over the summer. I am a bit of a glutton for punishment at times!

And I had a second meeting with a TV production company to get involved in a new cable television project over the summer - more details to follow...!

Deciphering officespeak

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 23:31:00 +0000

I was flicking through a magazine the other day and came across an amusing piece on what bosses say and what they really mean. For example:

'With all due respect' translated into plain English becomes 'With no respect at all.'
'It's a chance to gain greater depth of experience' means 'It's not a promotion.'
'Jeremy here is the office comedian' translated into plain English means 'Jeremy here is the office joke.'
'I'd like you to take ownership of this project' generally means 'My problem is now your problem.'

Does your boss speak in officespeak or in plain English? Hopefully the former - but I'll bet probably the latter...

Office politics: The argument for getting political

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:11:00 +0000

Office politics has a bad reputation.

But here's the reality: politicking happens whether you like it or not. Yes, some people try to be noble and refuse to play the political game; they focus on their jobs and work hard in the hopes of being noticed and rewarded for their efforts. But sadly there are limited opportunities in the world of work and, more often than not, these sorts of people end up being overlooked or ignored – either by colleagues or important customers or both. Do you want to be overlooked or ignored?

Of course not.

Many purists refuse to play the political game, believing it to require underhand tactics and a malicious intent. But politics are not automatically bad. Politicking merely describes the act of scrutinising business relationships and learning how to influence others more effectively.

It usually involves going through informal channels rather than officially sanctioned ones, but that doesn't make it bad in and of itself.

Nor does politicking have to be selfish. You can use your understanding of politics to influence people and achieve goals that are good for the organisation as well as yourself. Even in the most friendly and supportive of organisations, people don't always agree – so having an understanding of politics and how to exert influence can help you to pull people together and achieve outcomes that are in the organisation's best interests too.

Anyway, if you want to read more on the topic, bits of this article are taken from a lengthier one that I wrote a few months ago for management-issues.com - happy reading!

Take control: A tale of two presidents

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:04:00 +0000

One of the central themes in one of my next books, Should I Sleep with the Boss? is around the idea of taking control. That you can't necessarily control what happens to you, but you can of course control how you respond to it in shaping your career and life.

So even if you are made redundant or don't get given a promotion or suffer some more truly terrible life event, you can choose whether to let it get you down or whether to pick yourself up and get on with finding a better job or developing your skills or whatever you need to do to get on and succeed.

In my research, I came across the tale of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Of course, many Americans will already know of their childhoods, but as a Brit, I have to admit that I was somewhat under-informed about them.

So we all know that George W. Bush grew up in a wealthy family in Texas as the son of a former president. So he had all of the right education and background to enable him to succeed.

Bill Clinton's childhood was a rather different story. His father died when his mother was still pregnant with him. And he grew up in poverty with an alcoholic and abusive step-father. So fate had stacked the deck against him. Yet Bill still managed to claw his way out of poverty and to become a president of the most powerful country in the world.

I'm not trying to make a political point. What I do think this shows is the power of self-determination. That people who experience bad stuff in life don't have to let themselves be knocked down by it.

Psychologists have a fancy name for it. People who feel in control have an internal locus of control (i.e. they feel that the power to respond to their circumstances lies within them, inside of them). People who give up and feel helpless have an external locus of control. And there is plenty of research to support that people who have an internal locus of control are happier and more successful.

So whether you are trying to set up your own business, striving for a promotion, trying to reduce the number of hours you work - or whatever else your career goals may be - I would urge you to take control. While you may not be able to control what happens to you, you can decide how you respond.

Amazing what a lick of paint can do...

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:31:00 +0000

I was reading in a magazine the other day about the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which has been trying for years to improve the quality of its bus service. As you can imagine, people in California love their cars and dislike riding on buses unless they absolutely can't avoid it.

But the MTA decided to start with a rebranding campaign. They painted the buses new colours (with names such as 'California Poppy' and 'Rapid Red') and slapped some new decals on them. Immediately, 83% of people the MTA surveyed thought that the service had improved - even though they were exactly the same buses on exactly the same routes and the same old timetables! The only thing that had changed was how the buses looked.

Kind of makes you wonder what might happen if you were to refresh your personal brand by investing in your wardrobe, buying a smarter laptop bag, or getting a new haircut for the office, doesn't it?

Gravitas redux

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 22:01:00 +0000

I only wrote yesterday about gravitas. But here's a simple exercise you can try in your own workplace.

Ask a colleague to monitor your speech during a meeting together. Get him or her to listen out for any annoying habits such as 'ums' or 'ers' and to write down how many times you use them. I remember years ago one colleague pointing out that I used the phrase 'you know' about a dozen times in a one-hour meeting. I was mortified! But I was also glad that she told me so I could clean my act up.

Look out also for using words such as 'probably', 'hopefully', and maybe' - as these words make you seem like you lack conviction.

Another technique for stamping out irritating phrases or other bad speech habits is to get a colleague to make some subtle signal every time you use one - such as tapping their pencil on the table or touching a finger to the side of their face. It can be quite vicious, but it works! So ask a colleague tomorrow to monitor you to identify what your speech bad habit is - and get them to point it out until you have eliminated it.

Projecting gravitas

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 23:41:00 +0000

I just received the page proofs back from the publisher for the next book of mine - The Rules of Entrepreneurship. The book is coming out over the summer, so that's only a few months away.

Anyway, I was editing the editors' suggested changes and I was reading the section on how to persuade investors to give you their money. I'm making the argument that it's not just what you put into your business plan but whether people trust you to deliver on it. So I'm talking about stuff like presence and gravitas. Which I think applies to everyone - whether you are looking to get funding from an investor, a job from an interviewer, or a promotion from your boss. And I came across an interesting quote that I thought made a point quite nicely.

British actor and Hollywood star Sir Michael Caine once observed rather brilliantly in an interview:

The basic rule of human nature is that powerful people speak slowly and subservient people quickly – because if they don’t speak fast nobody will listen to them.

Might be interesting for you the next time you're in a meeting to spot who speaks quickly and who speaks slowly.

More importantly, are you a fast speaker or a slow speaker? And which do you think you should be?

Meetings, meetings, everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:10:00 +0000

I've written about meetings before. But I just read a survey in which 91 percent of employees confessed to having daydreamed in meetings. I think that's quite funny, but I can hardly say that I’m surprised - and I can personally confess to having taken other work into meetings as well as having fallen asleep in them too!

Here are some tips for handling meetings effectively:

Work out an agenda. Whether you were asked to lead the meeting or not, remember that meetings are an opportunity for you to show others how good you are. If someone else is leading the meeting and loses their way, you can speak up and get the meeting back on track.
Use the clock to keep people on track. Refer to the time as a way of hurrying people through the meeting if they dawdle unnecessarily. Once you have asked when people need to leave the meeting, you can make comments such as: “I’m conscious that we’ve only got another 15 minutes before Alex and Chris need to get away. Can I suggest we move on to discussing…”
Build on previous comments. Keep your contributions brief and try to add to build on the points of people who have already spoken. Don’t speak simply for the sake of speaking, but do speak up if you have a relevant point that has not already been raised.
Ask questions instead of being negative. Passing judgement on whether you think an idea is good or not is poor meeting etiquette. Saying “that won’t work” effectively implies that you know better than anyone else in the room. Instead of pointing out a problem, acknowledge the possibility and ask a question that invites others to seek a solution. For example, rather than pointing out that the team does not have the budget to do a project, ask: “That’s a great idea. How could we get the funding together for that?”

Enjoy your next meeting!

Positive strokes

noreply@blogger.com (Dr Rob Yeung) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:20:00 +0000

One of the books I'm writing (Should I Sleep with the Boss?) is on the topic of enhancing your career. And a big theme running through it is how to influence others more effectively.

Did you know that most criticism falls on deaf ears? If you tell someone about a mistake they made in their work, perhaps an errand they could have done better, or something they didn't do at home, they may pretend to listen, but much of the time they are busily justifying it to themselves.

Instead, focus on giving positive feedback instead. Rather than criticising bad behaviour, try to focus on what people did right. If you're trying to get someone to behave differently at work or home, praise what they do right. Compliment them on it sincerely and show your appreciation for their efforts - do it genuinely and you will find they do more of the right behaviour. Eventually the good behaviours will replace the bad behaviours.

It's a small but potent difference. Try it.