Raise the Praise Challenge
Have you ever noticed how a little praise can put pep into someone’s step? In a business or in a family, praising someone causes them to feel good, and it brings a palatable positive vibe into the atmosphere. Praise also creates a sense of belonging.
Thirteen years ago, researchers Emily Heaphy and Marcial Losada sought to find information about highly productive teams. Their findings were published in the Harvard Business Review. In their research, they found that the factor making the biggest difference in higher performance is what they deemed an ideal praise-to-criticism ratio.
These researchers divided their subjects into teams and found that teams that were higher performing had a praise-to-criticism ratio of 5.6 to 1. The medium performance teams had a 1.9 to 1 ratio and the low performance teams were criticized more than they were praised at a 1 to 2.78 ratio.
It is clear that the idea that praise is better than criticism when working with others has been around for a very long time. You may have heard the adage, “You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar,” or Mark Twain’s quote, “I can live two months on a good compliment.”
All this being said, taking a closer look at the study, it did not say that giving zero criticisms is useful. In fact, criticism is the opposite side of the coin. If everyone gets only praise, then the praise seems to carry less weight. In essence, if all of us are special, then none of us are special. A critical mention or comment is necessary to help someone do better and to reduce errors.
The research shows 5.6 praises for every criticism is the ideal mix for productivity. Personally, I think that is a lot of praise, but who am I to argue with research? 5.6 to 1 is the number to remember. It’s the goal – the “high bar” to reach for.
I don’t know what it’s like at your business or home, but I’m going to test drive this research and see if I can reach that lofty goal of 5.6 to 1 and see what difference it makes. If you want to, you can accept this challenge. Let’s call it the 5.6 to 1 challenge. More Praise for more pep in your step. Go make a difference.
By William Boardman
