What better pick-me-up is there than praise for your hard work?

Praise can turn a bad day around.

That’s why team members, regardless of their positions, shouldn’t hesitate to praise each other.

This post originally appeared on theSandglaz blog.

These aspects of praise are well known.

But here are some interesting tips on how to properly praise your teammates.

After all, you should recognize someone’s success.

But don’t do so after he’s reached his goal.

This is true for two reasons.

First, praise increases your team members' confidence levels.

A high confidence level helps them enthusiastically pursue goals and, in turn, successfully meet them.

Second, a team member will be receptive to suggestions after you fuel her determination with praise.

This allows you to suggest new tasks that can improve her final product.

There’s a secret to boosting determination with praise, though.

In short, you could’t signal that the person you’re praising has already made enough progress.

This encourages your teammate to relax his efforts.

You have to stress that though he’s done well, he still hasn’t reached his goal.

Take the example of two students getting 100% on a test.

The first student believes she’s made enough progress and no longer has to study.

She ends the class with a B.

The second student learns she likes studying because it yields positive results.

She ends the class with an A+.

Early praise is like the30% feedback rule.

Praising someone before they’re done a project shows she’s moving in the right direction.

She’ll no longer second-guess the quality of her work.

It also shows your leadership style.

You’re guiding team members, encouraging them to apply themselves.

You’re not someone who can’t dedicate time to check up on your teammates.

It’s easier said than done.

What if you hurt someone’s confidence and he becomes hesitant to work with you?

Meet the sandwich approach.

Peoplesandwich criticism between two pieces of praise.

They do so to avoid possible consequences of criticism.

After all, starting on a positive note should make both of you happy.

Unfortunately, this belief is false.

Your discomfort will only grow as you stall from giving bad news.

This is partly because praise and criticism are best shared as soon as possible.

She was outspoken and confident during interviews, but seems shy and quiet when she starts work.

Extroverts may seem like introverts as they first adapt to a new work environment.

Of course,highly-effective teamshave a mix of personality types.

Researchers base this finding on their study of French classes.

The results say that people beginning to learn a language need praise for their efforts.

This is because people don’t typically have much confidence when starting something new.

Though it’s still good to praise experienced team members, they don’t need as much motivation.

Illustration by Tina Mailhot-Roberge.

Additional photos byCreative Sustainability,Rich Anderson,Steven Depolo(Flickr).

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