Comments on: Praising Mastery

By: Ruchi

Ruchi — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:22:47 +0000

Whoa, what a thought provoking discussion.

Jennifer, you asked ” How can we encourage people to do their own personal best, without introducing the element having someone else “lose” or be “less than”? Is that inherent in succeeding, or can the two co-exist?”

I think , the reasearch itself gives cues to managers assuming it is applicable for workforce in organizations too. Followed discussion also raises an important q ” Is there a need to review the performance review systems / mechanisms prevalent in organizations ?”

What then would matter would be “how” and not “what “(grade)?

Are employees encouraged/reviewed in a manner which makes them think and reflect and take further responsibility ? Does it make them strive for more ? Does it make them reach out to set a higher goal for themselves and explore a journey of excellence ?

In situations where GOALS are standard & results measurable, competitive element can still push employees to excel even better. However, in situations where GOALS were different and individualistic, it is unfair to bring comparison into picture .

We have all known managers who apply Successful Coaching behaviors, apply concepts of Emotional Intelligence and effective communication while encouraging employees, even during giving Performance Review Feedback. ( which is inherently competitive in nature)

Look forward to diverse thoughts and broaden my own perspective.

Regards,
Ruchi

By: working girl

working girl — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:20:15 +0000

Great and relevant points.

By: Does Your Garage Have Curtains? | Jennifer V. Miller

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[...] with people because the blog posts have generated some lively discussion. See my posts on the effects of praise and how to “run your own race” to see the thread of the conversation. This theme continues with [...]

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Whose Race are You Running? | Jennifer V. Miller — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:42:33 +0000

[...] About « Praising Mastery [...]

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:37:29 +0000

Beth,
Thanks for the book recommendation. “Mindset” sounds fascinating!

Dallas,
OK, you pose what I call a “juicy” question—one that’s ripe for discussion. Short answer: yes, it’s a common practice in the sales profession and is typically designed to motivate higher sales productivity. I’m not convinced it’s the best model. If you want your salespeople in competition with one another, then it’s a good route to go. If you want them to play as a team, there are better ways to do so. That’s a topic for another blog post

Thomas,
As always, you stretch my thinking in relation to the people equation. I absolutely love the phrase “people have an internal guidance system that smiles” when they do well. What an evocative mental image.

Thanks to *all* of the contributors for stopping by this weekend. My internal guidance system has a big Cheshire grin going on right now…

By: Thomas Waterhouse

Thomas Waterhouse — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:22:09 +0000

I believe that we all have internal guidance systems that smile when we operate with excellence. Allowing others the state of grace to hear that voice more clearly is the mark of good parenting, or leadership of any kind. We can do this with quiet confidence in another’s gifts, and in their being. I think a consistent state of “I love you, just because” in relation to others is the grand driver of their higher good. Carl Rogers coined the phrase “unconditional positive regard”. People deserve the respect of authority over their being, and self-evaluation is the best evaluation. Artificial comparison is destructive. I understand that some will think of my response as naive but, well, I love them anyway! While I’m a social scientist by nature and by training, I think that some things just cannot be researched due to their complexity, or spiritual nature. This is why I have such a passion for the word or concept of encouragement, and especially the worldview of “Simple Encouragement”. Jennifer, thank you for yet another thought-provoking article!

-Thomas

By: Dallas Bragg

Dallas Bragg — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:24:19 +0000

Very thought-provoking for me. As a sales manager, I do try to individually praise my people when praise is due. However, I also publish comparitive sales results. Don’t you think a healthy mixture is appropriate for the sales industry?

Dallas

By: Beth Weisberg

Beth Weisberg — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:11:34 +0000

Interesting research, interesting question you’ve posed about application to the workplace. My take is that workplaces — and the human beings who populate them — would be better off if we didn’t have to do comparison feedback. However, it sure is a fact of life in most workplaces; competition seems inbred almost. In my view, that’s a consequence of our educational system, our family structures, all that input we got while growing up. Our parents, our teachers, our coaches sure compared us to our siblings, our classmates, our teammates & more, didn’t they? The result is that, even when an organization tries to eradicate an evaluation system which smacks of “grading”, people will still do it on their own: asking “what did you get?”, then comparing it to their own results. And no matter how far from A-B-C-D-F the “rankings” get, people will still translate into a “grade” in their heads (case in point: “meets expectations” automatically becomes a C, and thus unacceptable). It’s incredibly difficult to root out. I’m reading Carol Dwecks’ Mindset:: The New Psychology of Success, and she’s done some fantastic research around all this, and poses some intriguing ways of changing people’s mindsets. I highly recommend the book, and will be interested to see the ways we come up with to try & apply it in the workplace.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:42:54 +0000

Thanks for stopping by, Sandra and Mike.

Sandra, I love how you’ve helped clarify my original post. Yes, indeed, people need a purpose and well-set expectations can set that stage. My point in this post was to ruminate on what I hear some managers call “a little ‘friendly competition’” amongst peers. Is there really such a thing?

Mike, you do such a fantastic job of getting right to the heart of it with an extremely relevant example. You are correct, I always prefer the specific praise over the comparison to others.

By: Mike Henry

Mike Henry — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:33:37 +0000

Great post as always Jennifer. The results are true for adults. We all prefer being praised for specific skills or accomplishments than for those same things relative to someone else. Relative comparisons always fall short.

Which would you prefer? “Your blog is better than most of my friends’ blogs.” or “Your blog is well written and engaging. I always enjoy reading it.”

By the way, the second one is true of my opinion of this blog.

Mike…