Specific Praise

"Good job."

"Nicely done."

"Thanks for everything."

Who doesn't like to hear these words?  In truth, all of us like to hear praise or gratitude passed our way;   we should utilize both in leading our teams.   We can, however, improve upon praise by being more specific, i.e.:

"Good job, the way you formatted the report makes it incredibly easy to see the bottom line and reach conclusions."

"Nicely done - what I really appreciated about your presentation was that you didn't rush it.  You gave people time to absorb the information and to ask questions."

"Thanks for everything.   Not only did you complete the outline I requested, but the detail you provided really will enhance the entirety of the project."

By being more specific, you are accomplishing additional things with your communication:

You are making the individual feel that much better.   When you are more  specific with praise and gratitude, you are likely calling out individual traits that distinguishe that team member.  For instance, multiple people may do a "good job" on a report;  what made one individual's contribution noteworthy was that they formatted it in an easy to digest template.  By using praise to distinguish, you are not only expressing appreciation, you are also calling out what makes a team member special.

It shows you are paying attention.    Seriously, (and everyone knows this) you can sleep through a presentation and at the end of it still say, "Nicely done."   By adding qualifiers to praise, it shows that you really are paying attention to an individual's performance.   This builds your credibility as a leader as well as strengthens the bonds between you and your team members.

Specific praise shows the way.  You can be very general in your praise and people will feel good;  you can be more specific  and not only will people feel good, they will know your expectations for the future.   For instance, ". . .but the detail you provided really will enhance the entirety of the project," lets people know that you appreciate added detail in their work.  The next time they do a project for you, they will probably add those extra details that you appreciate.

Certainly, at this time of year (and every other time of year, too!), we should express appreciation to the people we have the privilege of working with.  This year, make it go a little bit further by being more specific.