Just a friendly reminder to those designers out there that are mentoring / leading / managing other people, that giving props for a job well done is extremely important.
At my mid point in my career i have become use to not always getting praise but instead relying on self satisfaction on knowing i do a good job. But last night at 10pm after sending out an update internally for a presentation that will take place today one of the VPās simply replied ājust WOW!ā
and to be honest it was a phenomenal way to end a night after working a 16 hour day.
Having worked for a company where you were made to feel as if you were lucky to have the job, let alone made to feel like you were any good at it, this is very important.
A small comment like that goes a long way in building confidence and building a good team. People can get pretty discouraged if they pour out hard work day after day, only to see it get brushed off like itās what theyāre supposed to be doing anyway.
I agree 100%. Always recognize the team. In my role Iām always receiving praise that is due to my team. It is important to always deflect the compliment to the specific individuals on my team. That way when I ask for raises or promotions for the, people are clear why
Well said. Related/likewise, as a consultant, it feels great to hear from my clients when they are happy. Yes, Iām doing my job, and youāre paying me, but a quick note āhey, great job on the design, you knocked it out of the park!ā really goes a long way.
I have some clients that I know are happy, but I never hear anything, and others that tell me they are happy for almost everything (except when they arenāt - so I know they arenāt lying). Guess which ones Iām more likely to hussle for a difficult deadline for?
I agree it is extremely important, but is just as important to know when and how to give praise. And as it turns out, that is the rub. There is a fine line between sincerity and platitude.
The key is to have a good relationship with the individual to know what/when/and how something is said.
Of course. The ability to let someone know when they are blowing it is very important. People deserve to be hit over the head with a baseball bat when they do something that is not up to snuff. It also makes the praise that much sweeter. Also, when somebody does something awesome, that person deserves to be praised highly, it will also be the new level of expectation that all of their other work will be held to. There is no finish line.
I have thanked my VPSā or bosses on various occasions, for their support and or guidance, along with the support they provide to the dept.
I grew up with very little positive reinforcement if any, so as an adult i have come to need very little of it, but i have learned that there are many people out there that do require the positive reinforcement and with it they strive to grow and develop. keeping in mind that it needs to be balanced and not just needles flatteryā¦
Jon, you state that āyouā know when you do wellā¦ but what happens if you think you do well but someone disagreesā¦ do you simply dismiss their opinion or do you strive to understand were the difference in view point is coming from? I have seen many people take the approach, of I donāt care if you think i do a good job or not because I know what i do. We just went through evaluations and one employee rated themselves as 4ās across the board (highest number / best score) and when his numbers didnāt match up with our VPās and my assessment his response was "they are just numbers and donāt mean anything, I know the type of job i doā¦ With this attitude he has grown at a very slow rate through his careerā¦
Praise is about acceptance, and humans want to be accepted by nature (most of us, not you lone wolfs). In general we are pack animals. Acceptance of praise is about a warm fuzzy. The designer in me thinks it is not necessary, I used to be angry with myself for feeling better after receiving praise. After all the work was the same before and after the compliment right? But people donāt work this way, and to maximize your potential as a designer is to understand how people work.
RE: Have I ever praised my employer for anything other than a paycheck? Absolutely! For may reasons. People in authority rarely get praise. You think they do, but more often than not they are getting the brunt of the problems, and if they are worth their salt, they are taking the hit square on the jaw and not passing the buck down hill. So they are getting beat up from above. From the people below them they rarely get thanks (other than for a paycheck) and often get complaints. So I always made it a point to give praise to my bosses when they did something over and above, like covering for one of my screw ups (which are frequent mind you) or fighting for a design beyond the expected. Also, to GIVE praise is a sign of the alpha. Typically giving praise to someone shows you are in a position to recognize their good and bad deeds. Giving praise to a superior shifts the conversation from one of authority to subordinate to a peer to peer level of recognition.
The key is to only use praise accurately so it has meaning. When employed to its fully, you can use praise as a critique. Praising a specific aspect of a project but nothing else lets people know the rest needs work. Praising one employee for a specific task publicly helps everyone understand the level of expectations. This is why when we give trophies to all the kids, it doesnāt reinforce anything.
Donāt think like a designer, BE a designer but think like a person. Things work out better
+1 for Yo! I wanted to write the same thing when I read Jonās comments.
Iāve found praise to be a very rare commodity for everyone in business. Everyone wants to be tough and be āresults orientedā. That turns you into a d***.
Only at my current job, Iāve thanked my boss and told him when heās done something great. Naturally, Iām like Chevis (I think, although I was praised ALOT as a kid). I donāt require much praise and donāt give it out. The last few years though, Iāve realized how hard everyone else around me is working. That should demand some praise.
The change is something that Iām working on for myself. I think it was something holding my potential back a bit.
Yo!: That was me. A couple months ago, I listened to an interview with the architect Will Alsop. He mentioned how he was one of the few architects left to use a mathematical basis to the proportion of his buildings (like the golden ratio). He said he thought that if local building codes would enforce proportion it might make better architecture instead of creating maximum heights for buildings or all of those other stupid zoning/building code requirements.
My take is the industrial designers viewpoint. Everyone is blogging about 3D printing making a revolution. I think it will likely lead to a lot of horrible looking things, unless people actually learn about proportion, color, line, surfacing and all of those other difficult things that it takes to actually make a good looking product.
This is Will Alsopās Ontario School of Art and Design in Toronto. Classic, restrained and well proportioned.
Iām a believer in praise. I donāt need it, but as a business owner, I understand full well what it means to (certain) people.
I had to point out the fact that this isnāt a one way street. To Yoās comment about trophies to everyone. I donāt dish out praise arbitrarily.
I guess, what I see happening with a thread like this is everyone saying, āYeah man, my boss is such a jerk because he doesnāt ever say I do a good jobāā¦is it possibly because youāre NOT doing a good job? What ownership do you take for the situation?
A further pointā¦praise is something to be given. Which speaks to my lack of need to receive it. I donāt view it as something that should be expected to be gained from the process.
Agreed. When people come to me and say āIām not being recognized as X,Y, or Zā. My response is always āAre you performing in a way that someone would recognize you as X,Y, or Zā. Praise is not a given, it is an acknowledgement based on merit. Otherwise it would be like an athlete saying āHow come I doāt have any points on the board, Iām on the field arenāt I?ā If you scored, youād have points.
That said, some people see praise (giving or receiving) as a sign of weakness, or frivolousness. Run, youāll never have fun working for them.
I always enjoy a good double entendre. When I read this it immediately brought to mind the many nights spent over projects trying to make deadlines. Pack animals, as in, beasts of burden bearing the loadā¦
I did not receive much āpraiseā as a child, and to this day have a hard time accepting any kind of compliment. I guess itās just a deeply ingrained lack of understanding on my part. That said, there is management philosophy Iāve found productive; praise in public; punish (criticize) in private.