Learning how to praise someone professionally benefits every leader, playing a key role in strengthening employee performance. In this article, we explore how to share meaningful praise in a variety of common workplace contexts, from performance appraisals to everyday interactions. We’ll also examine the far-reaching effects of praise on workplace culture and organizational success.
Table of Contents
- The Value of Professional Praise in the Workplace
- Essential Tips for Giving Professional Praise
- Examples of How to Praise Someone Professionally
- Tips on How to Professionally Praise Someone in Writing
- Adapting Praise to Individual Preferences
The Value of Professional Praise in the Workplace
Only 1 in 3 employees has received praise in the past week—which often causes them to feel their best work goes unnoticed. “Employees who do not feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to say they’ll quit in the next year,” Gallup asserts. “This element of engagement and performance might be one of the greatest missed opportunities for leaders and managers.”
The most memorable praise comes from managers, followed by the CEO, they note. So, managers and leaders should make a point of sharing regular praise with employees.
Well-delivered praise has a strong ripple effect throughout a team. As you praise employees, you’ll foster a culture of sharing appreciation, encouraging everyone to do the same. Team dynamics will become more positive and supportive as people share frequent gratitude with one another.
Instilling a healthier workplace culture has substantial effects on organizational success. Praise builds trust between employees and their managers, helping each person to feel seen and recognized. Retention may rise as people grow more satisfied with their workplace culture, relationships with colleagues, and the feedback they receive.
Essential Tips for Giving Professional Praise
Keep these key points in mind when delivering praise, to ensure it has maximum impact.
Be Sincere and Specific
Every compliment should be genuine. Praise someone when you feel compelled to let them know how they have positively affected you. And tell them how their work has benefited you or the team.
Being sincere means sharing specific, detailed praise. Meaningful compliments convey exactly what you appreciate about the other person’s work. Better yet, link the praise to your mission or bigger goals, showing how the employee is helping to achieve them.
Recognize the Effort
Focus on the effort they put in as well as the results. Too often, compliments focus only on the final outcome, not the time, ingenuity, and effort that went into the process of achieving it, as Christopher Littlefield says in Harvard Business Review. Acknowledge the work that happened behind the scenes, so people know you understand what made that achievement possible.
Make It Timely
Praise means more when shared in a timely manner. For instance, praise a direct report right after they successfully handle a specific task for the first time. The praise will feel more meaningful when the experience is at the front of their mind. Plus, it will be easier to reference specific details.
Keep It Balanced
Offer a mix of constructive feedback and praise on a regular basis. If you offer mainly praise, it will become less meaningful. Praise will feel more empowering when it refers to real challenges they’ve overcome through constructive input and hard work.
Examples of How to Praise Someone Professionally
Whatever the praise pertains to, refer back to specific actions that illustrate your point. Let’s look at how to offer relevant and detailed praise in various scenarios.
For a Job Well Done
- “I admire your dedication to seeing a project through, from start to finish.”
- “You handled those tasks so adeptly, modeling how they should be done.”
- “You approach each project so methodically, and your organization keeps things on track.”
- “You were able to troubleshoot the challenges that arose this week so effectively.”
- “You completed that report very thoroughly—senior leaders were impressed.”
For Their Leadership Abilities
- “You skillfully guided the team through this transition.”
- “Meetings always flow smoothly when you’re leading them—you keep us all on track.”
- “You’ve been demonstrating such self-assurance in leading the team, which gives people confidence in you.”
- “You graciously stepped in to spearhead this effort when a clear leader was lacking.”
- “You’re good at building trust and authentic relationships with the people you coach.”
For Cultivating New Skills
- “You’ve become our resident expert in XYZ program.”
- “You really picked up that new skill quickly—I’ve noticed you applying it in your work.”
- “I’m inspired by how you’re always seeking to improve your skills and knowledge.”
- “You seem eager to build new skills that support the whole team, which I know we all appreciate. You seek to identify and fill knowledge gaps.”
- “You’re absorbing such a wealth of knowledge from all the reading you’re doing.”
For Mastering a Role
Praise new employees as they grow competent in their role.
- “You’ve been growing more proficient day by day—I can trust you to handle 90% of your responsibilities independently.”
- “You’ve already added value to this role by successfully tackling XYZ problem.”
- “I appreciate how you’ve proactively sought out advice—and followed it.”
- “You’ve embraced all the challenges that lay before you, going beyond expectations.”
- “You’ve worked hard to understand the organization and your role within it. You’re always asking great questions.”
For Sharing Ideas and Insights
- “You often come up with brilliant suggestions that improve the caliber of our work.”
- “You really have a strategic mindset that helps our team connect to our mission.”
- “Your energy and ideas greatly enhanced our brainstorming session today.”
- “Your feedback on XYZ has helped me to personally improve.”
- “You’re great at driving the team toward solutions.”
For Improving Group Dynamics
- “You’re always encouraging others to share their ideas and opinions.”
- “I noticed how skillfully you helped resolve that conflict yesterday.”
- “You bring such a positive energy to collaboration sessions, enhancing team camaraderie.”
- “Your enthusiasm inspires others to strive toward higher goals.”
- “You model how to bring a high level of adaptability to our work.”
For Teaching or Mentoring Others
- “I’ve noticed how you mentor some of your team members who have been struggling, and it’s making a big difference.”
- “The workshop you led was extremely well-planned and beneficial.”
- “You have an extremely clear and articulate way of giving instructions.”
- “You really tailored your approach to participants’ needs, adapting to different learning styles.”
- “The feedback you share is specific and concrete, shaping people’s growth.”
For Demonstrating Strong Ethics
- “That was a tough decision, and you followed a principled approach in making it.”
- “You showed a great deal of integrity in taking accountability for that issue.”
- “You model how to follow a strong set of values in your daily work.”
- “You put the team’s interests before your own.”
- “You treat others with compassion in every situation.”
As you may have noticed, some of these examples praise actions that happen behind the scenes. Make a point of recognizing not just concrete results, but also the efforts to improve team dynamics, support colleagues, and foster a positive working environment. Such contributions often play a major role in promoting team success.
Tips on How to Professionally Praise Someone in Writing
Let’s examine how to share appreciation in writing, within several different contexts.
Email Praise
Provide context when giving praise, emphasizing why the employee’s efforts mattered. In an email, you can begin by briefly sharing background. Then, craft a succinct overview of what the employee did and the value it offered. Use line breaks to make the text more readable. End with a line or two sharing gratitude.
Consider CCing senior leaders or the team on the email as well if the employee has really gone above and beyond. Making the employee’s efforts more visible is a great way to share appreciation!
Written Recommendations
How to praise someone professionally in a LinkedIn recommendation or other professional endorsement? Begin by stating the context in which you’ve worked with the person. Describe ways in which you’ve seen them grow, areas in which they’ve displayed outstanding work, and values they model. Strive to provide a well-rounded portrait that highlights qualities like integrity and reliability as well as hard work and specific skills.
Before you start writing, ask the person about the type of role they are looking for. Then, you can share the most relevant information.
Performance Reviews
In performance reviews, use praise to highlight employees’ achievements and development. State specific examples of growth, as well as skills and traits they’ve consistently demonstrated over the long term. Also highlight how these accomplishments relate to their professional goals.
Here are a couple examples of how to phrase positive comments in performance reviews:
- “You’ve become increasingly more efficient in managing your workload.”
- “You dive right into projects rather than procrastinating.”
- “You’ve listened to all the feedback from your 360 reviews and made major strides in these areas.”
Then, highlight specific observations that back up your assertions. Make sure to provide concrete evidence for every point you make, which will help the employee understand what they’re doing well.
Public Recognition Channels
Use forums like company newsletters or Slack to recognize individuals and teams publicly. Highlight small and large wins and other contributions on these channels. Employees will feel more valued when the whole team sees their efforts. And teams will feel a greater sense of unity and accomplishment when the whole organization knows about their successes.
On these platforms, share praise succinctly, using short, impactful statements that highlight both inputs and outcomes:
“I want to thank Team A for going above and beyond this week. They took the time to rework the pitch for the client, tailoring it to their changing needs. Because of their efforts, the client opted for a higher level of service and extended their contract for another year!”
This short, to-the-point phrasing is more likely to be read and remembered. Plus, public praise serves as an example to others.
Adapting Praise to Individual Preferences
Some people prefer public praise, while others prefer to receive appreciation one-on-one or in a small group. Learn each employee’s preferences, so you can share praise in a way that feels comfortable to them. Ask employees about how they prefer to receive praise. Also take note of how they respond when receiving praise in different situations.
As a leader, model how to receive praise graciously, too. Often people tend to minimize their own contributions when faced with praise, out of a sense of modesty or awkwardness. Share genuine thanks for well-deserved praise, taking a moment to bask in your own success.
Now that you understand how to praise someone professionally, strive to make praise a consistent part of the workplace culture. As you share regular praise, you’ll build long-term relationships with employees that will make you a more effective coach and mentor.
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