The importance and power of praise in an organization

When looking at a white page with a black spot, 95% of people respond that they see a black spot (A) and 5% a white page (B).

If we transfer this perception to relationships, and specifically to workplace relationships, when communicating something, many people tend to focus on the spot (the negative) and overlook the white page (all the positive things people have done up until that moment).

According to John Gottman, the ratio of 5 positive comments for every 1 negative comment should be applied in relationships for them to last and grow over time. According to the Gallup consultancy, praise in an organization increases productivity by 38% and reduces absenteeism by 50%.

Introducing and integrating a culture of sincere communication, feedback, and praise within a team is essential for its proper functioning. The carrot and the stick may work when motivating people to perform repetitive manual tasks (e.g., factory workers), but for varied intellectual tasks, they are no longer considered effective motivators because they do not move people from within. Positive comments and genuine appreciation communicate worth and richness from the inside out and provide a sense of energy both for the giver and the receiver.

It’s Not About Throwing Compliments at Any Moment
For praise to be effective, it must have certain characteristics:

Be focused on the process, not just the results. It’s important to find things people are doing well and recognize them for it. You don’t have to wait until the end to offer praise. It’s recommended to focus on the skills the person is demonstrating through their effort and discipline, not only on the benefits generated for the organization.
Be specific. “You did a great job!” is an empty comment. If you say, “You wrote a very detailed email explaining every corner of the project, you asked the right questions to challenge the approach in meeting X, you brought a good number of examples to justify your thesis, and you thoroughly answered all the client’s questions,” it will have a different effect on the recipient because you clearly and specifically outline what made the “great job.”
Be personalized. Adapt your communication style to the person receiving the praise. For example, some people are terribly embarrassed when praised publicly, while others love having their work recognized in a large team meeting.
Not be paired with coercion. Correcting when necessary, honestly and simply, is indispensable for progress in a project, but this action should not be accompanied by a positive comment. It is often thought that to correct, one must first praise someone so they can accept the correction. This practice is ineffective because it makes the praise seem empty and manipulative.
Be isolated (avoid adding a challenge). It’s a mistake to follow a compliment with, “Keep it up!” or “Do even better next time!” It’s often thought that a positive comment needs to be followed by a challenge to keep people motivated. If we pay attention to the person’s reaction right after the challenging words, we’d notice a sudden change in their mood. The challenge totally cancels out the effect of the positive comment.

How to Praise Effectively

To make praise specific and personalized, you can combine the following 8 aspects:

Spoken / written
Public / private
Expected / unexpected
Professional / personal

For example, a comment could be spoken, private, unexpected, and professional: in an individual meeting, you positively comment on the originality of the latest design, even though the meeting’s objective was to discuss the launch of another product.

Or, for instance, a praise could be written, private, expected, and professional: you send a croissant and a handwritten card thanking the person for the article they published, which generated a flood of comments on social media and increased traffic to the website.

It’s important to surprise people with different formats of praise, always adapting them to the needs and style of the recipient. By combining the 8 aspects mentioned above, you can create 20 different formats all aimed at recognizing others’ worth.

The integration of the praise culture is closely related to improving the work climate. Additionally, according to studies by Benjamin Schneider, professor at the University of Maryland, for every 1% increase in positive work climate, there was a 2% increase in company profit.

How to Implement the Habit of Praise
To implement a new habit, you need to repeat the new action over time and keep track of it. You can use the table below until you feel you’ve integrated the habit (usually at least 6 weeks), and then check again after some time to see if you’re still maintaining it.

Write the names of people from your team to praise in the left column and a brief description of what they do in the central column. Then, mark the day of the week when you give them a positive comment with the 5 characteristics mentioned above, making sure not to decrease the rate of praise per person to less than once per week.

Aspects to Consider When Introducing Praise in an Organization
On the other hand, it’s important to remember that integrating a praise culture is not the cure for all ills. This practice should be accompanied by other necessary actions when building a positive and effective work environment (such as defining the mission, vision, and values of collaborators and the team, active listening, etc.).

Here are the following corollaries to consider when integrating praise into the work life of a team:

Don’t overvalue people’s actions and the results achieved.
Researchers found that when the number of praises increases with a 10-to-1 ratio, the praise stops having a positive effect, and people tend to become less productive. It’s important that in an organization, praise is not the only form of communication; there should also be spaces for instructing, explaining, discussing, debating, questioning, challenging, and correcting.
Apologize after an offense.
We’ve all seen situations where someone crossed a line and offended another person, didn’t apologize, and then started praising them. In most cases, we’ve seen that the recipient holds onto the resentment from the offense, and dozens of compliments don’t have an effect. When there is a gap, it needs to be fixed; you can’t just paint over it to hide it. Praise after a mistake is seen as empty and manipulative. The mistake must be openly, honestly, and humbly acknowledged.
Repeat it consistently over a long period.
If a negative tone has been used within a team for some time, it’s unrealistic to expect that the work climate will quickly improve with the introduction of praise. Introducing praise is a long-term investment. People respond well when they see there is a real and consistent effort to do the right thing.
Direct praise to people doing work aligned with their values and talents.
A fish needs water to swim, not trees to climb. Praise directed at a fish that’s been asked to climb trees won’t have much effect. If someone is repeatedly praised in a specific and personalized manner, but their performance doesn’t improve, it’s probably not a communication failure, but they’ve been asked to perform a task they are not talented in.

How to Promote Praise in Teams
In an organization, to promote open and sincere communication from authenticity and appreciation for others, and make praise an everyday practice, it may be helpful to use a tool that encourages all members to recognize the work and skills of others.

You can propose to a team to periodically perform a “praise circle”: all team members (leaders and collaborators) stand in a circle. The person receiving the praise stands in the center and receives (without justifying or deflecting) appreciation feedback from all members. Each member expresses their praise using phrases like: “You are detail-oriented and concise, and your impact on the team is to bring clarity.” Every member takes a turn in the center.

After using the “praise circle,” there is usually a sense of optimism and enthusiasm in the team, and people feel motivated to work with others. This tool can be turned into a recurring practice, for example, by using it at the end of biweekly, monthly, or quarterly meetings, or as frequently as the team requires.

If you want to implement a culture of praise in your team and/or organization, book a free first online meeting with me.