STAFF MANAGEMENT - The Mistake of Praising in Public

For several years, I had been following the classic advice to “Praise in public, correct in private.”  During staff meetings or at the morning huddle, I would single out an assistant who I thought was worthy of praise and tell everyone (in some way or another), what a great job they were doing.  I thought that this would motivate others to do more praiseworthy things.

But after a while, I began to notice that the one who was praised seemed a little embarrassed and the ones who were not, didn’t seem particularly pleased either.  I finally talked to one of my trusted assistants about it and this is what I learned:

Praising in public can be a problem in several situations:

1. If it looks like you’re playing favorites (“Doc always praises her”)

It’s easy to see several of our staff as the “good ones”.  You know, the ones who we wish everyone else would emulate.  Let’s face it.  Some of our staff DO deserve more praise than others.  But public praising one or two much more often than the others creates ill feelings among the group and embarrasses the “favorites”.  It could also end up de-motivating the “good ones” as they try to fit in with everyone else.

2. If it neglects others who have done similar things (“Hey Doc, what about me?”)

There are two situations here:  1) When the behavior being praised is not exceptional for most of our staff, only for the one we mentioned.  It can frustrate the others who have been doing that level of work all along.  2) When several assistants may have been working hard on a project, but we are only aware of one or two, our praise may upset those whose efforts weren’t recognized.  Make sure you know about everyone who has helped before saying anything.

3. If it seems insincere or a thinly veiled criticism of others (“Doc is praising her because I didn’t do what SHE did.”)

When the matter being praised reflects poorly on another staff by comparison, the praise can be interpreted as an indirect criticism of someone else.  We might think we’re highlighting a good example, but in fact it can come off as a “dig” on someone else.  We shouldn’t use a public forum to teach someone a lesson. Other staff may view us as being unnecessarily cruel to one of their fellow teammates.

SOLUTION – How to Recognize, Appreciate and Motivate

1. Praise in private

It’s still important to praise your staff for exceptional performance.  All of the issues above can be avoided if you tell it to them privately.  Remember, keep your praise sincere, specific and as close to the event as possible.  Also, never hesitate to appreciate and encourage a job well done.  A Gallup poll found that giving praise is responsible for a 10-20% increase in revenue and productivity. Not bad for a little effort!

2. Thank in public

Thanking someone is a way to recognize good work without putting them above everyone else.

Praise elevates; thanking appreciates.

There’s a major difference between saying:

1. “I want to recognize Sally for the wonderful thing she did yesterday. She went above and beyond working with that difficult patient, Bobby M.” (Praising)
2. “I want to thank Sally for taking care of Bobby M. yesterday. He can be tough to work on sometimes, but the appointment went smoothly.  ” (Thanking)

Thanking in public became such a positive experience for us that we decided to incorporate it into the Morning Huddle.  At the end of each Huddle in order to start the day on a positive note, we had a section called “Appreciations”.  Anyone could thank another teammate for some little way they may have helped them the previous day.

For example, a clinical assistant might say, “I want to thank Marti for doing some of my end of day duties yesterday while I was finishing up on that late patient”.  It had a profound impact on the number of times we heard about someone going out of their way for someone else.  Instead of focusing on the little frustrations of the day, the staff were catching each other doing something right.

Bottom line: Don’t praise in public.

Instead, Thank in public, praise in private.  And always be generous with both.