“You guys are amazing. Great job today.”
The more you hear this, the less it means, especially if you are just doing what is expected.
Too much praise for people performing in expected ways leads to praiseflation or the devaluing of your praise as a leader.
But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t praise. Praise commensurate with effort, especially above-and-beyond effort, is always warranted as people should be recognized and appreciated.
As someone who has studied and practiced leadership for many years in military, business, and volunteer settings, I’ve seen a few things like praise that bosses can easily overdo.
Here they are.
1. The Humble Thing.
You truly can’t lead well without genuine humility because a lack of it stagnates growth, learning, and adaptation.
But humility should never morph into prostrating oneself on the faux pitiful altar of ignorance so you arrogantly feel good that you listened to the “little guy.”