Jeffrey Zaslow writes in "The most-praised generation goes to work" about the how much praise 20-somethings need. In "In praise of less praise," he follows up with a counter view.
In this article, I'll summarize Zaslow's key points and then sort out what I think it means for you, the business leader.
Key points
20-somethings apparently need more praise than previous generations. One study found that college students in 2006 were 30 percent more narcissistic than those in 1982.
In response to this, organizations are pulling out all the stops to create cultures of praise:
Hiring "praise consultants," like the self-styled "Guru of Thank You" Bob Nelson.
Hiring full-time "celebrations assistants" to wander around throwing confetti and giving away balloons.
Requiring managers to send 48 thank you cards each year.
Giving out "applause notes."
In the second article, Zaslow points out that unearned praise may be destructive and meaningless, and that data may be more important than praise.
He quotes 23 year old Ryan Paugh as saying, "But what we want is guidance and mentoring -- and praise telling us when we're on track. Our population will rise as yours [baby boomers] declines. No matter what is said about us, you have to adapt to us, not the other way around."
Hmmm...so what to make of all of this? Here are my opinions on what you might do and not do in regards to praising the folks you work with.
Do
Give everyone appropriate recognition. Extensive research by the Gallup Organization has proved a solid link between the amount of praise and recognition employees receive and real business results. Baby Boomers, Gen-X, Gen-Y, millennials - everyone needs this stuff.
Individualize recognition. Mass praise has little positive effect, and can often seem cheap and contrived. If everyone is special, no one is special. Tailor your praise to what each individual needs and prefers. Take the time to ask your folks what kind of recognition works for them and how often they want it.
Focus on the unique contribution each of your employees makes.
Care about the folks you work with. So much of good leadership just comes down to really giving a damn about what makes your folks tick.
Beware of praise inflation. Maybe this is the boomer in me, and maybe I don't understand millennnials well enough yet, but I think too much praise for inconsequential acts tends to devalue real, deserved praise.
Give praise and recognition for specific actions and results, give it in person, make it sincere, tie it to goals, and give it soon after you know about the behavior or results.
Teach your managers how to give praise, give them a safe place to practice recognition skills, and provide on-going coaching to help them bed down the practice.
If you can't give praise, at least give performance data to your folks. We have a 23 year old friend who has taken a sales job straight out of college. She is four months into the job and has no idea how she is doing compared to the norm. She has received no data on her sales compared to expectations and compared to her peers. She doesn't need praise so much as hard data with which to work.
Don't
Don't outsource praise and recognition. Praise consultants, the "Guru of Thank You" - give me a break! Do we really need this? Do you really believe that a minimum wage employee throwing confetti over your folks is going to take the place of real face-to-face praise. This may be the boomer in me again, but I just don't see it. If you are a leader, you must deliver praise and recognition yourself. If you can't find a way to be comfortable with this, then get out of leadership.
Don't trivialize praise and recognition. Don't play goofy games that won't meet the needs of your team. Don't make the mistake I made at age 36: I was number two in a fairly large factory, and in charge when the resident manager was gone. In one morning meeting, we heard that a major project the preceding day had gone exceedingly well. I had the entire senior team get up, turn to the right, and pat the next person on the back. Geez - how dumb can you get. My mostly 40-something colleagues didn't appreciate my trivial little game, and I heard about it from the boss on his return.
Praise and recognition is important to each of us, and each of us needs it in a little different way. As a leader, your job is to know what that is for each person on your team, and then deliver it.
