Genuine Praise and Helpful Criticism

You can’t be a Great Boss if you shy away from giving feedback, both positive and negative. When you see something, you must say something. Failing to say something speaks volumes about what is important to you.

It’s probably no surprise that employees would prefer feedback to be positive. But what may surprise you is that employees would rather have negative feedback than no feedback at all. Despite this, many bosses confess that they’re not particularly good at giving genuine praise or helpful criticism.

What Type of Boss Are You? 

Although not part of the EOS^® process, below are some insights into the type of Boss you might be. If you recognize yourself in any of the traits below it might be why your employees are not performing to your expectations:

“The Cheerleader” often praises people for their efforts even when goals and objectives aren’t met. They think that criticism demoralizes people while praise motivates them. They run from confrontation, not understanding that healthy conflict creates clarity. Their praise becomes tiresome because it’s disingenuous and unearned. The “criticism vacuum” leads to mediocrity, poor morale and the blame game. 

“The Poor Boss” just doesn’t get it. He or she has low emotional capacity and lack of empathy for others. They have a “Just do your job – that’s what I pay you for” attitude. The resulting “feedback vacuum” leaves people wondering how to do things and why they’re doing them.

“The Taskmaster” is afraid that praise will lead to complacency and an expectation that the person will expect a reward … like a pay increase. The “praise vacuum” leaves people wondering if they’ll ever meet expectations because great results aren’t recognized and never seem to be good enough.

How To Give Praise and Criticism Like a Great Boss

Great Bosses give both genuine praise and helpful criticism they understand how vitally important giving genuine praise and helpful criticism is to build a healthy organization and a culture of accountability.

And here’s how:

1. Praise in public and criticize in private – don’t mix these up;
2. Praise more than criticize – think of it as your checking account, maintain a positive balance;
3. Praise “period” – never end praise with “but” or “however”;
4. Criticize the bad behavior or poor results, not the person;
5. Criticize to help someone improve not to destroy their confidence;
6. Be timely with both praise and criticism;
7. Make it real – give examples of how the behavior or performance has helped or hurt the team.

I encourage you to give genuine praise and helpful criticism. So, when you see something, say something. And, make it memorable. Doing so is one of the Management Practices critical to be a Great Boss.

Next Steps

• Discover how to be a great boss—download a free chapter of How to Be a Great Boss.
• Download a copy of the EOS Accountability Chart to help you discover the right structure for your company
• Request a free 90-Minute Meeting with an EOS Implementer to get a clear picture of what it looks like to run your company on EOS