When you receive praise genuine praise – how do you feel? I know I feel appreciated and want to continue to do the great work that I’ve been doing and I’m sure you do too.
Well thought out and delivered praise recognizes your work and accomplishments. It reinforces your actions builds self-esteem and motivation.
It makes you feel better about you.
Giving such praise can also make you feel better about you.
So be specific – “When you stayed late to work on the last minute changes to the pitch to our client, I was able to work on the financials so we got the client what they needed on time.” That praise is specific and lets the employee know what you appreciated. Chances are when you need them to help you out again, they’ll be there!
Generic praise is nice, but specific praise is wonderful. Don’t just tell an employee she did a good job. Tell her how she did a good job.
Not only will she appreciate the gesture, she’ll also know you pay attention to what she does.