Praise Challenge

I dare you to say something nice

Properly delivered praise improves people’s mood, their motivation, their confidence, and makes them more likely to do the praised activity again. As leaders, praise is an important tool.

Tips for praising well:

Be authentic. Lies and/or exaggeration are easily spotted (by the recipient and/or third parties), and make you look like you are manipulative or incompetent at assessing whatever it is you are praising. Keep it real.

Keep it proportional. "One does not applaud the tenor for clearing his throat."

Tailor your praise so that it is meaningful to the recipient. Assertive extroverts like “Great job!” style compliments. Warm extroverts like “Thank you so much! We couldn’t have done it without you!” style compliments. Most introverts prefer to be praised more calmly for their expertise, the high quality of their work, or their efforts.

A genuine “thank you” goes a long way in many situations.

So, my challenge to you today is to catch people doing things well, and to let them know you like, respect, and appreciate what they do.

(image source: http://www.floridacounselingcenters.com/2015/06/17/affirming-words/)