How we recognize peers

It's not easy to do great work. It requires humility, service, empathy, focus, diligence, clear communication, and much more. One way to encourage each other to keep doing our best work is to compliment them.

Just saying “Good job” isn't nearly enough. Let's break down how to give exceptional compliments.

Be authentic

We give compliments to promote greatness and instill courage, not to get promoted or affirm poor performance. Double checking your intentions before giving compliments is important to maintain a pure compliment culture. Ultimately, if you are inauthentic in your recognition, people may think you are inauthentic in other areas as well.

A good rule to follow is: Don't compliment someone because you feel you should; compliment them because you feel compelled to let them know how they impact you or others.

Be specific

Clarity is kindness. This is true for all feedback, including compliments. Leaving no room for doubt reinforces the authenticity of your compliment, showing that you really appreciate what you are complimenting.

Imagine telling your best friend that you love them, but when they ask you “What do you love about me?”, you can't give them a clear answer? The lack of clarity will refute the entire compliment, and even make it feel like more of an insult.

Providing details and examples to help the person comprehend the context of our remarks can be a great way to be clear.

• Good compliment: “Thanks for taking notes in the meeting, you're amazing!”
• Amazing compliment: “Bethany, I know it is your job to take notes in the meeting, but because you do it so well, I know I can relax and focus on doing my job. Thank you.”

Process over results

It's easy to see compliments as a way to simply recognize someone for their achievements. Instead, showing appreciation for the process and effort that went into producing the results can be much more impactful. Compliments that only focus on the result often trigger a concern in the receiver of not being able to produce the same result in the future.

When recognizing someone, show them that you appreciate the time, sacrifice, creativity, or care that went into their work.

• Good compliment: “Brady, I'm amazed that you always go above and beyond for customers. Every month, you are showing high NPS scores. Keep it up!”
• Amazing compliment: “Brady, I am amazed by the deck you put together for the client. I can't even imagine all the hours, work, and creativity that went into making that presentation happen. Thank you for everything you did behind the scenes on to make this happen.”

Share the impact

It's tempting to think that compliment is only about the receiver, but there is a reason why you are the one giving the compliment. Including the way you experienced or were impacted by their work, gives the compliment extra gravity. None of us care to do work that stays in a vacuum. We want to know that our work as meaning and impact.

Consider sharing how their ownership impacts the team, their work changes the company's results, or how their attitude influences the team culture.

• Good compliment: “Trinity, you do a great job at focusing on your work at not getting distracted with unimportant things.”
• Amazing compliment: “Trinity, the whole team is benefiting from your ability to focus on what's important. Personally, I felt myself getting lost in the details but you were so helpful to clearly align the next steps so we could keep the project moving! So grateful for your influence on our team.”

The Compliment Checklist

The next time you feel compelled to give a compliment, before you share, pause for a minute and answer the following questions:

• Authentic: Why am I recognizing this person?
• Specific: What did I experience or observe?
• Process: What did it take for them to do what they did?
• Impact: How did their actions impact me or the team?