Cultivate the 5 seeds of Big Potential says Shawn Achor.
Seed #3: Enhance your Resources:
Create a prism of Praise and Recognition
Praise is a reward that boosts self-esteem, reinforces positive behavior and inspires progress. When you receive praise, instead of absorbing it (hoarding), or brushing it off (deflecting), which many of us tend to do, Achor suggests we refract it (bend it like light through a prism) and watch the single, incoming ray of light as it passes through a prism spread outwards as many rays in diverse directions. In other words, pay it forward and praise others in your sphere who are deserving.
How best to do so:
1 Stop comparison praise: We have a tendency to compare, “You were the best player on the soccer field today”. In order to put one person on a pedestal, we unwittingly demoralize others. Ironically, it also limits that person’s potential. Being better than others seems enough. There is little incentive to strive to be one’s own best. Therefore, it is much more inspiring to applaud effort, skill, and progress. “You played better than last week. You kept your eye on the ball and kicked it straight towards the goal. High five!”
2 Spotlight the right: By complimenting someone for a task well done, their brain automatically focuses on the positive, making it more likely for the behavior to be repeated. By stressing the negative, their brain perceives criticism and fear which causes thinking centers of the brain to shut down, and reactive centers to be awakened. This leads to futile defensive behaviors. A May 6, 2019 Gallup article underscores that annual performance reviews are no longer the trend in companies. Frequent, meaningful conversations in real time have greater sway on engagement, performance and motivation. Give authentic praise on a regular basis.
3 Praise the base: Awarding top performers (highest sales manager |1st in class | MVP) narrows attention to the cream of the crop. It is vital that we recognize their support systems (sales group | classmates | football team) who were instrumental in propelling them to the top. Rewarding the high achiever alone could breed discontent and apathy amongst others. It is important to lift collective morale for a resilient, happier team. Individual achievement does not happen in isolation. Praise a win. Praise the base as well. Be both specific and authentic.
4 Democratize praise: Waiting for praise to come from the top down limits its potential for far reach. Regardless of position or rank, everyone needs to feel empowered to offer tributes to teammates and coworkers. The WorkHuman Conference in 2015 prioritized creating a system for giving real time feedback and recognizing talent as essential to growing a positive work environment. Such a digital model for peer to peer recognition has had an increase in retention rate and customer loyalty. “If an individual received 4 or more touchpoints of praise in a year, the amount of praise they provided to their peers doubled.” Imagine how little it takes to reach this tipping point.
5 Unlock the hidden 31: A study showed that 31% of people report being positive but do not express it openly at work. This is like buried treasure: ‘closet optimists’ with untapped potential for spreading positivity. It is neither positive nor negative people who have greater influence over others. It is those who are vocal about how they feel who have the greater impact. We need to vocalize these positive thinkers.
6 Praise to an outcome: We tend to applaud the winner of an event after the fact. Instead, if we praise to an outcome that has yet to materialize, we set the tone for success. “I know you’ve got this. Congratulations on all the months of practice. You are going to nail the competition.” The person believes in the outcome and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We praise future potential.
“Praise is a renewable resource. It creates a virtuous cycle. The more you give, the more you enhance your own supply.”