Show Your Employees Some Love: Why It Pays to Praise

I still remember one of my first jobs following my move to New York years ago. My team consisted of about 40 people, and ‘Jack’, the department manager, had developed the unfortunate reputation of being a ‘hard-nose’. It’s not that he hated the members on our team – we just felt that way sometimes – because of his constantly pointing out how we could do our job better, accompanied by a perceived lack of appreciation for our efforts.

Fast forward almost 20 years later. In my current role as a consultant with a number of companies here in Germany, I’ve been conducting research on employee satisfaction and company culture. As I surveyed dozens of professionals working in various fields, one complaint stood far above the rest:

I just don’t feel appreciated.

Many of the employees I interviewed said that their superiors are quick to let them know what they are doing wrong, but are almost never inclined to tell them what they are doing right.

An accomplished member of one sales team put it this way: It would be nice to hear the words ‘nice job’ once in a while.

Commendation. Praise. ‘A job well done’. Whatever you want to call it, ‘it’ is sorely missing in today’s high-pressure and production-oriented environment.

But could the key to higher productivity be…inspiring your workers to be more productive?

Think about it...What would be the result if your superior said something like the following to you: ‘Hey _____________, I wanted to tell you something. I know I don’t say it enough – but I really appreciate what you’re doing here. The way you handled that (project, client, problem) – it was great. I could really see your (specific quality you possess) in action, and how much it benefits us here. Keep up the good work.’

Sound motivating to you?

Don’t mistake my point here. My goal is not to encourage ‘flattery’ (defined by Merriam-Webster as 'insincere or excessive praise'). We're all well too familiar with the colleagues whose parents thought we should throw a party for every new song they learned as a child. And we also know what it's like to be on the receiving end of a shallow or superficial compliment which leaves us wondering about the motive of the compliment giver.

What I do strongly assert, is that if you take the time to give employees realistic and positive reinforcement – a.k.a. sincere commendation for a ‘job well done’ – it will have the following benefits:

Your people will feel important and needed. In contrast to Jack (mentioned earlier), Mr. Larson, a managing director at the same organization, had a much different reputation. Despite having oversight of about 300 persons, he would come around to see each one of us on our yearly ‘work anniversary’ with the company. He usually stuck around and chatted for about 5 – 10 minutes, and he always amazed me with the interest he showed in us. Somehow, he even managed to learn all of our names – greeting us by first name as we passed each other in the hallways. ‘How’s it going, Mark?’ ‘Nice to see you, Shelly.’ ‘Great job on your presentation, Micah!’ Mr. Larson (Call me John, he would say) also had an open door policy that meant we could speak with him personally if we felt the need.

I’m sure that many in similar positions may feel there are better ways to use their time. But those little things meant a lot. He made us feel that our work was important to him.

We were important to him.

Do you want your team to jump through hoops of fire? It might mean a matter of just a few minutes a day, but I promise it will be time well spent.

It will make giving correction easier. Jack may have had a brash management style, but many office leaders in the U.S. identify with the opposite problem. IN her article for Forbes, Erika Andersen mentions what many of her clients consider their most difficult task: giving people corrective feedback.

“Most often”, she writes, “we’re worried about the other person’s reaction: What if she gets angry? What if he cries? What if she tells me I’m an idiot? What if he gets super defensive and starts blaming me?”

All kinds of problems can result from a lack of correction, ranging from employees who never reach their full potential to others who lose their jobs without an idea of what they did wrong. But when we are in the habit of telling our employees how much we appreciate the good things they do, it becomes much easier to correct the bad things they do.

We can have confidence that our direction is balanced and reasonable – and in the best interests of both employee and company.

It makes receiving correction easier. Unlike Ms. Andersen’s clients, it is my experience that many companies here in Germany have a fair share of ‘Jacks’ running the show. (Christian Höferle explains possible reasons for this in an article he co-authored for the Harvard Business Review.) The German employees I interviewed said that it is very common for individuals in authority to spew out constant correction – even in a public setting. Morale…and productivity…naturally decline.

The fact is, no one wants to make mistakes or underperform. But when that’s the only message we hear, we begin to lose motivation. On the other hand, when we can be confident that our leaders have ‘got our backs’, we’re much more ready…and willing…to receive constructive criticism.

So give some thought to your own style of leadership. When’s the last time you told members of your team that you appreciated them? Or told them specifically what you appreciate? Or let them know how much you enjoy working with them? A few moments of sincere praise could pay rich dividends for you, your team, and your company.

Oh yeah…and to be fair, Jack changed over time.

Maybe he learned a thing or two from his own mistakes. Or maybe he softened a little with time. Or...

Maybe he made a conscious decision to change…after a visit from Mr. Larson.

If you liked this post, I wrote a sequel for Inc.com with specific advice for leaders who would like to improve the praise culture at their organizations. You can find it here.

***

Here are some of my other articles:

Justin Bariso is an author and keynote speaker who believes that focusing on the good in others is a powerful force for motivation. He writes weekly on the topics of leadership, productivity, and how to find valuable business lessons in today's headlines and everyday life. Justin has been published  by Inc., TIME, Business Insider, Yahoo Small Business, and The Huffington Post, among others. Feel free to contact him for writing or speaking opportunities, or any other way you think he can help. Follow him by clicking the button above or on Twitter @JustinJBariso.

Image credit: Tomnamon



Michael Dillon

Vice President Of Marketing And Business Development at NovaLink Inc.

9y

I had an (ex) boss who would seek out the negative in anything, no matter how successful something was. In our weekly status meetings, when we had to go around the table and tell what we were working on, we used to call it "brace for impact".

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Paul Southam

CIO @ Sterling Pharma Solutions | IT Leadership, Risk & Change Management, GDPR, Digital Transformation, ISO27001

9y

A great article! There are far too many Jacks and not enough Johns! I try to be a 'John' as much as possible and agree with the statement that by giving praise when it is appropriate makes it easier to give 'constructive feedback'. I generally work to the premise of 'Treat how you want to be treated'. This generally works for me and I get a lot of positive feedback from my team as a result. Make them feel wanted and that you are genuinely interested in them as a team and a person and they will move mountains for you!

Christian Höferle

Your Chief Culture Officer 🕴🏻 Fractional CCO 🙋🏻♂️ Champion of 𝗜𝗖𝗘-𝗤 🕺🏻Coach to Decision Makers 💁🏻♂️ Closing your 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗽 🌐 Challenging your notion of "normal" 🆕 The Culture Guy

9y

Great article, Justin. When dealing with people, ideally we should be excellent givers and receivers of praise/acknowledgement/compliments. It is, however, important that we are aware how "ideally" is defined. Different cultures have different styles of praise. While it seems to appeal to most readers/commenters here when leaders are described as being generous yet sincere in giving praise, we have to remind ourselves that this is especially true in an Anglo-Saxon cultural context (or one that has been heavily influenced by it). Other cultures (e.g. those with a higher level of power distance) tend to be much more tolerant of constructive criticism or a lack of praise. Yes, everyone likes to be recognized for excellent work. But the way in which praise is delivered is culturally specific. So learn the praise culture of your local setting and adapt accordingly. The return on your investment will be a motivated and committed multicultural workforce.

boonjak leo

Out of the box solutions to learning issues

9y

In this global world, knowing the culture goes a long way when it comes to showing appreciation or acknowledging someone's effort; nevertheless sooner or later the person on the receiving end will know whether the 'praises' are genuine or not.

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