In working with businesses and organizations of all kinds, I
hear the same concerns everyday:
How do we increase productivity?
How do we improve Customer service?
How do we keep people actively engaged in their work and with
others on their team?
How do we reduce turnover?
How do we improve safety?
Even if you aren’t thinking about or concerned about every one
of those questions, I’m sure at least one of them has kept you
up at night in the past.
As leaders we think about these things because they impact the
success of the organization. As coaches we think about how to
impact these things day-to-day, person-by-person.
As a coach, someone helping people improve their performance for
the benefit of both the individual and the organization, there
are typically two types of feedback that you could provide on
their performance at anytime. Constructive feedback (sometimes
called criticism) and positive feedback (which I will call
praise).
Forgetting the words for a minute, these two types of
information are important to anyone trying to do anything
better. We need to know what we aren’t doing quite right, so we
can adjust, and we need to know what we are doing well, so we
can replicate that. Makes sense doesn’t it?
Now, let’s look at the words. I looked up criticism in my
thesaurus and here is what I found:
“1. censure, faultfinding, disapproval, condemnation,
disparagement 2. a judgment, evaluation, appraisal, analysis,
assessment, estimation, valuation, 2 b critique, review,
commentary.
I also looked up the word praise, and found:
“v. 1 acclaim, laud, applaud, pay tribute to, compliment,
commend, eulogize, extol, honor, sing the praises of, pay homage
to, endorse…”
Now, think about these two lists of synonyms. Granted, not all
of them make sense in a business context, but ask yourself these
questions:
· Which of these things have I received more of in my
professional life?
· Which of them motivates and inspires me to strive for greater
achievement and higher performance?
And now with your coach’s hat on, think about these questions:
· Which of these things do I share more often?
· Which will help me most inspire and motivate others to reach
their potential?
If you are like me and most everyone I’ve ever discussed this
with, you have received more negative, “constructive” feedback
than positive, encouraging feedback at work. And you believe
that with more encouragement or praise you might have been more
successful quicker.
The point in two words?
Praise matters.
Want some more proof?
According to a Gallup survey outlined in the book, How Full is
Your Bucket? 61% of American workers received no praise at work
last year. 61%! And the #1 reason people leave their jobs is
because the feel unappreciated.
It is undeniably true. You can prove it from your personal
experiences and from the hard data. Praise matters. And it is
vastly underused as a coaching tool by most people most of the
time.
As you finish reading this and walk away from your desk and
begin interacting with people (whether you coach them or not),
keep these things in mind:
· Everyone needs recognition and reassurance. Hopefully
the exercise and the data above confirm this fact for you.
· Praise gives us pride in our jobs. Given a choice,
would you rather have people who take pride in their work, or
not?
· Praise generates enthusiasm and commitment. Committed
people can work miracles, so it pays to build commitment.
· Praise builds loyalty. What are the real and hidden
costs of employee turnover?
· Praise prevents people from feeling taken for granted.
When people feel taken for granted they are less committed and
loyal, aren’t they?
· Praise motivates us to “go the extra mile.” The extra
mile is often where we find satisfied customers, higher returns
and more.
· Praise improves our relationships. Would you like to
have better relationships with those you lead, coach and work
with?
· Praise takes hardly any time and costs nothing. There
are few things in life that can produce such great returns for
such a small investment.
Get that praise tool out of your toolbox. Dust it off and allow
it to become shiny with use. It is an easy tool to use. It is a
fun tool to use. You might even want to take it out of your
mental toolbox and lay it on top of your desk so you remember to
use it more often.
If you want answers to the questions at the beginning of this
article, start with praise, because praise matters.
Kevin Eikenberry
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/praise-matters-529.html