The BANDIT TRIO – Your Enemies of Praise?
When was the last time you complimented a coworker or a member of your team?
One week ago? Two weeks ago? Or was it more like months ago?
Findings from a national study titled, Trends and Perspective in the Workplace Today* found that, when it comes to delivering praise, 47% of managers today fall short of routinely complimenting their employees as compared to 5 years ago. Nevertheless, 60% of managers are more aware of the need to praise their employees. You read that right! They know they should, but they don’t!
So, what’s behind today’s managers’ hesitancy to deliver praise? After all, people love praise!
Could it be because employees are different than they use to be? Is that what’s holding some 50% of managers back?.... Frankly, I DON’T THINK SO.
More likely, it has to do with something I call THE BANDIT TRIO of time, pressure, and stress! You see, another statistic found in the National Trends Study* was that 75% of managers reported having a more difficult time than they did 5 years ago completing all the tasks that they are being asked to do today. What’s different is that today’s managers and supervisors simply forget or don’t have the time to compliment because there’s so much on their plate just about all the time!
I hear more and more of my clients say they are experiencing this “too much on the plate” factor – all of which adds to my instinctual suspicion as to why there is less praise going on in most workplaces.
So, what to do? Here’s a simple solution that I learned from a Chief Engineer whom I coach:
Every morning before leaving for work, he makes a point to place three small pebbles, large enough to rattle around, in his right side pants pocket. While at work, as he delivers a compliment, he transfers one pebble from his right pocket to his left. By the end of the day, his objective is to make sure that he has the three pebbles in his left pocket. Try this! But if you don’t dress in something that has pockets on any given day, try wearing bangled bracelets using your left to right wrists to score your compliments.
This idea can be easily implemented even if you’re working remotely.
Lastly, if, at the end of the workday, you find you had no reason to compliment three people, you need to read my new book, THE PRO-ACHIEVEMENT PRINCIPLE, as soon as possible! Get it on Kindle for just $0.99 until November 24th. You and your people deserve it.
* Trends and Perspective in the Workplace Today was conducted in 2020 by Bright Enterprises and spearheaded with help from the National Management Association, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona, and many other BBBs across the country, Vistage, LPGA, and WATT, along with a few organizations in the financial and utility industry.