How many times have you found yourself justifying a decision by saying, "We can't do that or they'll leave." Or, "The last time we did that, we had two people quit."

Many times we make decisions influenced by fear. As a result, we end up not taking action, perpetuating a problem that clearly needs to go away.

Here's the deal. So much of our time and energy is wasted on negative behavior and implementing command-and-control initiatives that don't get us anywhere. Instead, why not try a different approach?

As my coach Daryl Jenkins (a Certified Strategies Coach) once told me years ago: "Instead of worrying about whether or not team members will leave, why not use that same energy to focus on creating an environment where people want to stay?" Now that's some good advice!

What have you done to show appreciation for your team's accomplishments lately? As much as we all have room for improvement, there is definitely a lot of good that is happening right now in your company. Shine the light on that and watch what happens. Just like negative energy spreads like wildfire, so does positive energy.

Chris Murphy is a Certified Strategies Coach and owner of Maximum FX Salons Spas in Austin, Texas.

When’s the last time you acknowledged a staff member or the entire team for an accomplishment? What happened as a result?