Longing for praise

At the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, hundreds and thousands of spectators line the course, cheering the runners. Over the final two kilometres, I run through a corridor of people calling “Allez!”, “Come on!” and “Respect!” I feel tall, happy and grateful, knowing that the same praise and recognition await the first and last finishers alike. The spectators’ enthusiasm and the entire region’s involvement rightly give the UTMB a special status among ultra trail races.

UTMB 2017: even at 2:35 a.m., my friend Volker Sauerzapf receives praise and recognition from the spectators.

Recognition is harder to find at work than in sport, where congratulations flow through various channels before, during and after an event. I have to take a hard look at myself here. A year and a half ago, I would pass negative emotions such as “This no longer works after the update” straight on to the team. Praise and recognition faded into the background. Reading Stefan Merath’s books and using his entrepreneurial system changed some fundamental things in my approach. It starts with important questions each morning:

Who could I do something good for today? How can I experience the feelings I want to have regularly in my life? What can I look forward to?

And at the end of the day:

What am I especially grateful for? What were my three most important successes? Where did something go better than expected today?

This changed my perspective. I try to focus on positive emotions and pass them on. Of course, a bug in an update needs fixing. But my mindset has shifted towards learning from mistakes instead of finding someone to blame.

I cannot say whether it is simply a case of getting back what you put out. But since adopting positive priming, more positive things have come back to me. And when praise comes from outside, I immediately share it with everyone inside the company.

External praise is rare. Sharing it immediately with everyone internally is rarer still.

Making sure praise reaches those who deserve it matters personally to me. It is essential to a positive company culture, yet often receives too little attention. That can stem from attitudes such as: employees are paid already and should be glad to have a job; that was not bad, but could surely be better; or if I praise them, they will stop trying so hard.

Of course, appreciation can also be shown through pay rises, bonuses and other material gestures. But underneath it all comes an acknowledging gesture or a word of praise. Some well-paid employees are unhappy because they feel unseen. They are the ones keeping an eye on job advertisements. I urge every entrepreneur to make a culture of praise part of the company’s DNA.

When were you last praised? When did you last praise someone?

Giving and receiving praise and recognition is simply smarter!