Earlier this week I delivered a free webinar on how to raise your profile and influence in a hybrid role. In that I shared my number one tip - which is to praise others.
I thought I’d expand a bit more on how and why in this week’s email. I’ve written about giving feedback before but it’s worth focusing on the benefits of praise separately. Let’s look at why and how.
Why?
When we're busy and overwhelmed it’s easy to forget to tell people that we appreciate them or that they're doing a good job.
But it really is so important and beneficial, for a number of reasons including:
It builds connection
Effective work is built on effective relationships. And relationships are built on human connection. Praising someone will automatically deepen your relationship with them, because you are acknowleding and recognising them as a person. It will build the trust they have in you.
It shows you’re interested in everyone doing well, not just yourself
The people who are valued in teams are the people that are focused on shared goals, not on themselves. Recognising other people’s contributions will demonstrate that you are interested in everyone doing well, not just you. In most organisations, this is valued as a leadership trait.
It makes people more likely to reciprocate
There’s an element of recipriocity in human interactions. If we do something nice for someone, they are likely to want to do something nice for us in return. So you are encouraging people to look out for things you do well, and to point them out.
These are the benefits to you. Obviously there are also benefits to the person you’re praising! Who doesn’t get a confidence boost from receiving positive feedback? And it’s great to know what you’re doing well so that you can do more of it.
How?
In a hybrid world it is harder to give praise off the cuff or in passing. But the fact that we need to make a little more effort makes it even more important and meaningful.
So how do you do it?
Firstly, as soon as possible and as specific as possible. This means it's really tangible for the recipient. So not just "you are a great presenter" but "you presented really well in that meeting, you made your points really clearly."
Secondly, whilst we should always criticise in private we should praise as publicly as possible. So you could:
send an email with either their or your manager copied in.
post a message on a company or department Teams channel.
mention in in a team meeting.
Here's a task for today - give one person you work with some positive feedback. It takes a couple of minutes and it will give you both a boost.
And ... as an added bonus ... being grateful is one of the keys to personal happiness, so if you praise someone else you get a little boost too.