AT WORK
Managers can create 'first-born' environment to promote success for all

By Anita Bruzzese
Gannett News Service

If you're into statistics, consider this:

• More than 50 percent of U.S. presidents have been first-borns.
• Two thirds of entrepreneurs are first-borns.
• Forty-five percent of the female world leaders in the past 40 years have been first-borns.

What does that tell us about the oldest child in a family? Well, the second-born might say that the older sibling got all the parental attention, while the last-born might report that the first born got to boss everyone else around. And they would both be right.

Which is exactly why they are successes, says Tom Connellan, a business consultant who has studied the characteristics of first-borns in the workplace.

"We looked at all the achievement levels for men and women, and first-borns were always over-represented among high achievers," Connellan says. "But it was also clear the things that made them successful were environmental."

In other words, the existing environment for first-borns that fosters achievement can be duplicated by managers for all workers, regardless of their birth order, he says.

Specifically, the necessary environmental factors for workers to succeed are:

• Receiving more positive expectations. "When the first child is born, the parents say that child is going to grow up to become president of the United States. It's the idea that whatever they are involved in, they're expected to succeed."
• Giving more responsibility. First-borns are held more accountable, without being subject to judgments or blame. They are given responsibility at an earlier age by being asked to care for younger siblings, and are always given instructions by parents on what to do and what not to do.
• Being given consistent feedback. First-borns receive more attention from parents, and more time is spent giving them encouragement as they learn to walk, talk, read, etc.

"What we found was that it was the presence of these three factors that makes the difference, and leaders of high performers were actually creating these three factors in a job setting," Connellan says.

Unfortunately, many managers haven't got a clue about setting up a first-born environment, and often spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to get results from a small percentage of low-performing employees.

"In a typical workplace, you have the top 5 percent that are high achievers, and a bottom 5 percent that you should just get rid of. But the real juice is the other 90 percent of the work force that could go up — or down," Connellan says. "If you even shift these people up 5 percent or 20 percent, that's a significant change."

Connellan says it's not that difficult for managers to establish a first-born environment, and after a month, most of it will become ingrained habit.

For example, he offers this easy tip: at the beginning of every day, the manager puts 10 dimes in one pocket. Each time a compliment is given to a worker, then a dime is transferred to the other pocket. The object of this exercise is that by the end of the day, all 10 dimes should have switched pockets.

"Most people understand positive reinforcement and punishment. But they don't understand the distinction between the two. And, so, they give no feedback at all," he says.

In his book, "Bringing Out the Best in Others!" (Bard Press, $19.95), Connellan says that a majority of company presidents under age 40 can often identify a supervisor, manager or mentor from early in their career who created the three factors in the job climate.

"Henry Ford said: 'Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can't, you're right,' " Connellan says. "As a leader, your job is to help them think they can."

Anita Bruzzese is author of "Take This Job and Thrive."