The power of process praise
I was working on a production recently and I caught myself falling into an old habit: saying “great job!” as my default phrase for praise.
I learned a while ago that this kind of praise is not specific enough, and it carries less meaning for the recipient. It can even come across as a bit hollow - kind of like "how are you?” when you greet someone. It's a habit. The intention rarely is to stop and have an actual conversation about how you are.
So I've been working on adding specificity to "great job” - like “great job at _____” or “you did well at ____.”
So I thought I was nailing specific praise and being a great leader…until I was challenged to reconsider the effectiveness of this praise after reading Jonah Berger's Magic Words.
Here's what I learned: Telling someone they did well, they're smart, or they are a good violinist is not as helpful as we think.
This kind of praise implies their performance depends on a stable trait - an innate ability or intelligence. If they did well, they have that trait. If they did badly, they don't have the trait.
How many times have you thought, “I'm such a bad ___” when a performance doesn't go well? It's partially because we've been conditioned to associate our innate ability with doing a good job. It happens to me all the time (even having understood this flawed association!).
Relying on this kind of performance praise can lead to a fixed mindset, where we think our talent and abilities are static. This can hinder our motivation and willingness to take risks, sabotaging our chances at growth.
Praise doesn't only need to be specific. It also needs to also be focused on process.
Instead of “great job nailing that run” (implying they're only “good” because they've nailed the run, and if they didn't, they wouldn't be "good”), we can shift toward something like “wow, you've clearly worked really hard at that run and it's gotten really great” (implying value in the effort, and that even if it didn't go well, it's not a mark of their innate ability).
When we commend someone's effort, strategy, or perseverance, we empower them to continue striving for improvement. This approach fosters a growth mindset and encourages risk-taking.
Back to me. I realized that I've been telling myself, “I'm nailing specific praise, so I'm a good leader.” That is a bit of a fixed mindset. I'm focused on performing well (giving specific praise) to be innately good as a leader. Well, I could shift my focus to the process. I could tell myself, “You're working so hard at elevating your praise. That's making you a better leader every day, even if you don't perform as you hope 100% of the time.”
Specific praise is fantastic. What's more powerful? Specific praise focused on process. It helps us all become better.
What could you do to focus your praise on the process?
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