One out of three managers finds it difficult to tell someone that they’re doing good work. Sheesh. It’s then no surprise that employees are starving for praise in the workplace and eventually quitting. You can delight them today by telling them they’re making a difference.

Here’s a thought – When you see someone on your team making progress no matter how small, just acknowledging their progress will work wonders.

Most managers and senior leaders shy away from recognizing their employees. In fact, research on positive feedback shows that only 31% out of 8,671 leaders preferred giving positive feedback to their employees.

Here’s where it gets even crazier. Despite employees needing positive feedback in the workplace some managers continue to keep it to themselves.

Here’s an interesting finding from the research. Keep sending small signals of positive acknowledgment of progress during the project, not just after it’s over.

“Jack, Loved the slides today. Great engagement from the team, let’s keep at it”

“Mary, Good call with the customer today. The customer seems to appreciate it as well.”

There’s also some fascinating research on how to motivate employees based on their motivation styles.

Some of us are promotion focussed (We play “to win”), others are prevention focussed (We play “not to lose”). Understanding the preferences of your employees will help you motivate them much more effectively, and you’ll start seeing noticeable changes.

Whatever you do, remember positive acknowledgment of progress needs to be immediate, genuine and should lead to positive action.

Ali