Praising Never Hurt Anyone - It Even Helps!

"Nothing is ever said until I do something wrong", or "He/she did not even say thank you and I did all that work". Does this sound familiar to you? Your operation is busy, you expect people to work longer hours to cover the work. You may say thank you, however, is that enough? Some people may think it is enough to just say 'well done' rather than praising properly. Some people are scared to praise others, but great leaders are able to give solid praise where it is due. Praise helps improve people's confidence and makes people more motivate the next time. If praising is to be effective it must be done properly, and we will reap the rewards of doing so. This article will explore more on how to praise effectively.

What may be the obstacles to praising? Some may say that they are very busy and have no time to praise. Other may say that praising makes people's mind to become weak. How do you think? Is it true? For me, praising never hurt anyone but it even helps. There are several benefits of praising that I can think of; it contributes to open communication, it builds positive relationships, it lets people know they are performing well. When people are recognized for something it is likely that they will repeat the performance.

As I said earlier, praising must be done properly in order to be more effective because it is not enough to just say 'well done' or 'thank you'. So, how would you praise properly?

First of all, you should praise people immediately when it is due. People are likely to recall exactly what they did and it has a much more positive impact. After that you should tell them exactly what they did right and you have to be specific. It is more effective only if they know exactly what was good and they are likely to repeat the performance. You should also tell them how you feel about it. Why? Because it shows you care. They are aware that you are taking an interest and you value their performance. You should use words like proud, pleased, impressed, happy, etc. You should pause a moment after you share your feeling. It will allow them to "wallow" in their own glory or take it all in or even respond to you. Next is to encourage more of the same by saying "I hope that you can repeat this good work in the future". Finally, you should shake hands or touch in a way that communicates support if it is appropriate. It may not always be appropriate to shake hands or touch and it depends on the culture where you are in. In this case, you may do thumbs up, touch shoulder, high five, etc.

In summary, praising is a balm for the soul. Everyone likes to be praised. If you praise you people in timely manner and effectively as I shared earlier, you will definitely be able to enhance the morale of your people and they will be motivated. The only thing is you must believing in praising and start doing it. You will reap the rewards of doing so.

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