FREE online courses on Getting Along with People - The Art of Getting Along
With People - The Power of
Praise
A friend of mine knowing fully well that I am a teetotaller and is deeply religious, had come to visit me once with an
atrocious present, VAT 69 and was expecting me to say a few words about his
gesture. I stood speechless for a moment, then recovered and said:
"How thoughtful of you! This is something I would learn to
compliment others." A compliment is an expression of appreciation offered with
sincerity, with no thought of personal gain. Learn to praise people for any good
work done by them. This would motivate them to produce even better results in
future. If good work is recognized and appreciated, people certainly go for it.
Therefore, as a manager, you should pat your subordinates on the back whenever
they achieve good results. Catch people doing something right and praise them,
quickly and specifically. Praise, to be effective, must be sincere. Better if it
is bestowed on people in public. Remember every person has a genuine hunger for
recognition. The deepest need in human nature is the desire to be important. If
you praise him, openly, he feels proud of himself. He begins to think of himself
as an important member of the organization. He not only likes the company and
management but also conveys his healthy feelings to the whole world.
Now look at the other side of the coin. When you criticize, people just switch
off further interaction and go away. In an imperfect world, it is rather easy to
be critical about everything. People have many flaws. Institutions have deep
scars. Nature has several imperfections. But is there any use developing a
carping, critical and negative attitude? If you are possessed with feelings of 1
am O.K., you are not O.K.', it's high time you consult a psychiatrist. Instead
of turning the blame on others, indulge in
self-introspection. You may find several
gaping wholes. When you relax and have a mental image of what you have done so
far, you will be able to see thousands of mistakes you have committed in the
past. You begin to see that the faults that you have observed in others are but
sad images of your own. You were not honest. You were not sincere. You were very
rude. You were overtly sensitive, you were dirty and so on and so forth.
Those who can't indulge in soul-searching find it difficult to accept the fact
that the whole world is as good as you think.
The world, of course, is not full of holy cows. At times you need to reprimand
people. A manager has to be tough and nice and not nice and tough. If praise is
the prize for peak performance, reprimand is the price for poor show. When
reprimanding people, however, you should exercise restraint. Instead of hurting
-their sentiments through insulting remarks, you must offer an objective
feedback of where things went wrong, which is the right path and how they can
come to the right track.
