Photo by Simon Whitehead: http://threebythree.ch/
Bonjour, Hello, Namaste
Some interesting research has come out regarding praising children. Researchers found that children who were given too little or indeed too much praise had low self-esteem. So can children spot false praise and why does too much and too little have the same effect?
Having lived and worked in a Franco, Indo and Anglophone set-up, praise definitely has a cultural bias, each culture having its own attitudes and beliefs concerning praise. Depending on our schooling system and our parents views, our own idea of praise is somewhat shaped by these experiences and this can have lasting effects on us later on in life….
I take the example of when I worked in London. My boss, who was a great manager, was so quick to point out when the team did something wrong, but when we were doing it right nothing, nada, not a dickey bird …
Indeed, a client I once worked with told me, when discussing the importance of praise, that when things went wrong he reacted immediately and gave the appropriate feedback…but when things went well he did not respond as promptly…
“Why?” I asked. Surely a job well done merited the same amount of enthusiasm and speed?
He replied, “To me it’s just evident… I expect that people should do their job properly…”
And yet here he missed a great opportunity to give feedback and to make people feel valued which is very often overlooked.
How can we be effective in our praise giving without being over the top?
- Give genuine and evocative praise.
- Give feedback consistently and let people know that you appreciate them.
- Give feedback on effort and determination, even if the result was not what you had hoped for, it goes a long way…
I leave you with a wonderful quote from one of the most prolific writers, Mark Twain" “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” And I couldn’t agree more…
Wishing you all a wonderful summer ☺
Sunita
PS: Good book for business managers and leaders: “The Leader as a Mensch: Become the Kind of Person Others Want to Follow” By Bruna Martinuzzi
Good book for little leaders: “The Book of Giving: Poems of Thanks, Praise and Celebration” By Kay Chorao
Bio
Sunita Sehmi was born in London and is of Indian origin. She has a Psychology degree and a Post Grad in the Development and Training for Adults from the University of Surrey.
She began her career in the recruitment industry where she worked in Executive Finance Recruitment in the city of London. Upon her arrival in Geneva, she completed the advanced level Cambridge University training certificate (CELTA) and thus began a career in teaching, training and development. She has taught English and Communication skills both in companies and in educational institutions for over twenty years. She is now the founder of Walk The Talk. www.walkthetalk.ch
Sunita lives Geneva with her husband and their two boys. She is currently studying towards a Masters in Career Management and Coaching at the University of Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchatel and Fribourg.
