Managers Letter
It Pays to Praise
by Sharon Marks
"I can live for two months on a good compliment."
--Mark Twain
The quote above captures the very real and very human need for recognition. There is a growing realization that the workplace must become an environment where people's efforts are recognized as worthwhile and essential.
Why is this simple acknowledgment of effort -- effort that is critical to completed deals, successful projects and the closing of big sales -- so rare? We're quick to tackle tough subjects like the glass ceiling, the balance of family and work and difficult collegial relationships, and yet we hesitate to offer the very praise we all desire regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or profession. Surprisingly little time and attention are paid to one of the most cost-effective and commonsense tools available, both in the home and in the workplace.
Praise is the tool of a thriving workplace. If we define a tool as something used to accomplish tasks more efficiently, with greater ease and, ultimately, with improved results, praise certainly fits this definition. Effective leaders at all levels use this powerful resource, which comes in limitless forms, to recognize, reinforce and rekindle the spark that sets apart uncommitted workers from valued employees.
The Impact of Praise
Morale rises
Quality improves
Production increases
Teams work more collaboratively
Organizational goals take precedence over personal agendas
Praise is meaningful because it shows that you recognize that effort must occur if success is to follow. Effort is exerted by employees who want to contribute, collaborate and consciously be a part of the bigger picture of their organization. In his book
Leadership Is an Art,
Herman Miller Furniture executive Max de Pree says that employees like to "have a sense of belonging, of contributing and of having at least reasonable control over their own destinies. And, finally, they like to have someone say 'thank you.'"
Praise helps employees value their own efforts by recognizing their contributions. Ask yourself if the treatment of employees determines how valuable they can become to your company. Generally, employees who feel they are valued are more likely to want to take an active role in the organization's success. It becomes a personal commitment that brings them a definite reward because they feel their individual efforts are being recognized as making a difference. If employees don't feel valued or appreciated, a cascading effect of work slowdown, lowered quality, dissension among workers, time spent in monitoring and, ultimately, termination will have a very real bottom-line impact.
Changes in the work environment make praise all the more important.
If the lack of praise can have such profound effects on business, why isn't praise used more frequently? Consider three specific areas directly affected by the use of praise: the workplace, the work and the worker.
Historically, the workplace might have been a counter or factory line. The workplace today can be a cubicle, a modem or a cellular car phone. While all designed to accommodate a demand for mobility and an insistence on flexibility, these innovations can be experienced as isolating. The modern workplace may actually conspire to separate people. Today, it's often hard to know what others do that warrants praise, which certainly intensifies a feeling of not sharing in those important daily efforts.
Traditionally, daily efforts were seen as the work employees produced. People made a product that they could see and take pride in creating. Today, work is likely to involve a process or service. There is often little or no perception of the bigger picture. As a result, a sense of contributing to the whole, of identifying as a part of a larger organization through one's efforts, is often missing.
And the worker once saw the organization as a kind of surrogate family. Discipline and praise, support and development, all came from the organization. People understood what their individual efforts meant to the whole. However, the worker and the organization of today are often seen as self-interested and having no loyalty, so workers have changed their expectations. They know now that the surrogate parent (the organization) is difficult to please, distant and demanding, and that sense of estrangement will be reinforced with every round of downsizing and each reorganization.
These dynamics make employees cautious, hesitant and less likely to recognize the value of their own efforts or those of others with whom they work.
How does business remedy this? Are there any companies that understand the value of praise and actively practice it? Fortunately, the answer is YES!
Some companies have taken a creative approach to praise in their organizations.
Some companies have taken on the issue of recognizing effort and found creative ways to let employees know they are important. In one company, everyone from the CEO to the cafeteria worker gets a jar of marbles, with each jar containing a different marble color. When one employee sees another doing something worthy of recognition, that employee can put one of his or her marbles in the praiseworthy person's jar. People can easily see who acknowledges and who is being acknowledged. Use of praise is reinforced every time one employee recognizes another. Not only does this let people know their efforts are recognized, but it helps teach others what to look for and acknowledge.
Four Building Blocks of Praise
For praise to be valuable, it must be given often enough to establish it as part of the company culture.
Praise is felt to be personal if it is varied; it should not be seen as simply a habitual response.
The value of praise must be understood as a form of recognition that acknowledges and motivates, rather than simply rewards.
When we praise people, we do so with consequences in mind. Therefore, we consider the listener.
Another company decided to do away with business titles because they wanted it understood that each employee's contribution was just as important as every other employee's contribution. Similarly, another company let its employees create their own titles; for instance, the budget analyst chose the title of Budget Beast.
And one company provides free hot lunches prepared by a gourmet chef for all of its employees (and dinner for the engineers who work in the evenings!). Not only do those employees know they are getting a valuable benefit, they are also more productive because they stay on site for lunch.
Praise benefits everyone, and ultimately the organization flourishes.
Sincere praise isn't forced or false, nor is it reserved just for certain groups. It doesn't work in just one direction. The tool of praise is available to everyone -- CEOs and systems analysts, salespeople and secretaries, bankers, brokers and bartenders.
When used properly, praise results in people feeling that their ideas, suggestions and concerns matter. They feel more secure voicing their opinions and see each other as valuable resources with whom they want to collaborate.
In a supportive environment where people are praised for offering opinions, ideas will flow freely and some of those ideas might result in cost savings, product improvements and quality upgrades. Other products of a workplace where praise is used regularly are a reduction in sick days and a much higher level of employee retention.
Remember, praise is a simple tool with incredible power -- not power over others, not power to direct or demand, but a power to transform the workplace. Through the use of praise, the workplace is transformed from apathy to action, from indecision to decisiveness, from stagnation to motivation.
It pays to praise!
Sharon Marks,
president of San Francisco, CA-based Top Marks Consultants and author of
It Pays to Praise,
works with companies to help their employees become more collaborative and effective. Top Marks conducts seminars on various communication topics at companies nationwide.
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Managers Letter
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Managers Letter
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