Is it easier to criticize than to praise?
11 March 2008
Read by 1890 persons
Many managers wonder about the best way to tell an employee what's wrong, but they often overlook the importance of recognition in their management styles. At the risk of serious demotivation.
Almost half of managers feel their professional skills are not recognized at their true value. Yet, lack of recognition is the number one source of stress in the workplace! "We all have three great fears: being ignored, humiliated or rejected," emphasizes trainer Bertrand Déroulède. "In the face of these three fears, recognition brings three feelings: importance, competence and appreciation." Hence the need to pay particular attention to it. According to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow, who classified the needs of every individual on five levels, recognition comes on the fourth level, after physiological needs (remuneration), security (of employment), social ties (need for belonging), just before fulfillment (self-fulfillment, personal achievement). In other words, an individual cannot fulfill themselves if they do not feel sufficiently recognized and if they do not have enough self-esteem... If, very often, we first think of a salary increase or bonus to motivate a team, other more everyday gestures are also important.
Don't be too distant.
"Recognizing the other is showing them that they exist," says Martine de Saint-Romain, of Cabinet Absylone. "The need to be known or recognized reflects a concern for esteem and prestige as well as the search for responsibility. Concretely, it is a question of being able to express one's skills, of knowing that one is esteemed and of perceiving the signs of this recognition." Knowing how to be enthusiastic about a result, not sparing compliments when justified are the precepts of this firm. Far from the image of the distant "boss" dispensing satisfactions sparingly...
A daily task.
"It is essential to provide recognition to each employee, whatever their contribution," says this SME boss. "Making sure it is fair. Everyone must feel important, the person who cleans as much as the person who manufactures the products. On a daily basis, this translates into small gestures on my part: I take an interest in the results, in the quality of the work. It's a daily activity." Be careful, however, not to force your nature: too many favorable gestures can also conceal a certain laziness, an artificial way of buying peace. Value the results obtained. "Whether it is a performance or a behavior, reward success," advises Martine de Saint-Romain. "Show what benefits they bring to the company, encourage them to continue. Congratulate by sending positive signals: "That's excellent! Well done!" Don't hesitate to shake hands, to acknowledge the work done by means of a general email...
Thank you.
"We don't do it enough, due to forgetfulness or shyness," says Martine de Saint-Romain. "Try to remember the last time someone said thank you to you, it probably pleased you. Put yourself in the other person's place: they need it too. "Thank you for being there, for helping me to complete this file, for bringing your sense of humor..." Show everyone that you know their merits, their abilities, their skills by entrusting them with new, more difficult tasks.
Published January 30, 2008
L’Expansion
Almost half of managers feel their professional skills are not recognized at their true value. Yet, lack of recognition is the number one source of stress in the workplace! "We all have three great fears: being ignored, humiliated or rejected," emphasizes trainer Bertrand Déroulède. "In the face of these three fears, recognition brings three feelings: importance, competence and appreciation." Hence the need to pay particular attention to it. According to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow, who classified the needs of every individual on five levels, recognition comes on the fourth level, after physiological needs (remuneration), security (of employment), social ties (need for belonging), just before fulfillment (self-fulfillment, personal achievement). In other words, an individual cannot fulfill themselves if they do not feel sufficiently recognized and if they do not have enough self-esteem... If, very often, we first think of a salary increase or bonus to motivate a team, other more everyday gestures are also important.
Don't be too distant.
"Recognizing the other is showing them that they exist," says Martine de Saint-Romain, of Cabinet Absylone. "The need to be known or recognized reflects a concern for esteem and prestige as well as the search for responsibility. Concretely, it is a question of being able to express one's skills, of knowing that one is esteemed and of perceiving the signs of this recognition." Knowing how to be enthusiastic about a result, not sparing compliments when justified are the precepts of this firm. Far from the image of the distant "boss" dispensing satisfactions sparingly...
A daily task.
"It is essential to provide recognition to each employee, whatever their contribution," says this SME boss. "Making sure it is fair. Everyone must feel important, the person who cleans as much as the person who manufactures the products. On a daily basis, this translates into small gestures on my part: I take an interest in the results, in the quality of the work. It's a daily activity." Be careful, however, not to force your nature: too many favorable gestures can also conceal a certain laziness, an artificial way of buying peace. Value the results obtained. "Whether it is a performance or a behavior, reward success," advises Martine de Saint-Romain. "Show what benefits they bring to the company, encourage them to continue. Congratulate by sending positive signals: "That's excellent! Well done!" Don't hesitate to shake hands, to acknowledge the work done by means of a general email...
Thank you.
"We don't do it enough, due to forgetfulness or shyness," says Martine de Saint-Romain. "Try to remember the last time someone said thank you to you, it probably pleased you. Put yourself in the other person's place: they need it too. "Thank you for being there, for helping me to complete this file, for bringing your sense of humor..." Show everyone that you know their merits, their abilities, their skills by entrusting them with new, more difficult tasks.
Published January 30, 2008
L’Expansion
