4 ms·

Interesting perspective. Personally, I would find effusive praise of that kind profoundly weird, and uncomfortable, because it doesn't fit into the framework o

by douche 11y ago

Interesting perspective. Personally, I would find effusive praise of that kind profoundly weird, and uncomfortable, because it doesn't fit into the framework of mostly male-male communication I'm used to(relatively traditional, tinged with some ex-military vibes). In large part, the sign of doing a good job is the absence of criticism. Since you could almost always improve on your performance, there tends to always be some level of criticism. Maybe I'm weird, but external validation doesn't really push any of my buttons. If you think I really did a great job, give me a bonus, or an extra day or two of vacation. Otherwise, I've got work to do.

grahamburger 11y ago
I would have said the same until I had a boss who was very openly and naturally complimentary. It does wonders for impostor syndrome and definitely kept me motivated through the hard times. It only worked because it came off as very natural and sincere, though. Edit: I guess for context I should add we're both male.
SixSigma 11y ago
Finding what people think is a suitable reward is really difficult. Doing a good job != standing out "Recognise and reward" should be a tenet of good management, and you don't reward people for doing what they should be doing anyway. One good reward is seeing if there are any conferences in the person's specialist field. But so they know it's not a holiday, have them to a brief presentation about what they learned upon their return.
kaitai 11y ago
I got somewhat comfortable with that (mostly) male-male framework through engineering college and math school. My experience was exactly yours: the sign of a good job is the absence of criticism, and you could always do better. I'm overall fine with that when I know that's the context, but your 2nd-to-last line is the kicker: give me the bonus or vacation if I did something! Now I'm working with some folks from a more corporate background, and it is a different culture. Very different. I'm still getting used to it myself.

by douche 11y ago

grahamburger 11y ago

I would have said the same until I had a boss who was very openly and naturally complimentary. It does wonders for impostor syndrome and definitely kept me motivated through the hard times. It only worked because it came off as very natural and sincere, though. Edit: I guess for context I should add we're both male.

SixSigma 11y ago

Finding what people think is a suitable reward is really difficult. Doing a good job != standing out "Recognise and reward" should be a tenet of good management, and you don't reward people for doing what they should be doing anyway. One good reward is seeing if there are any conferences in the person's specialist field. But so they know it's not a holiday, have them to a brief presentation about what they learned upon their return.

kaitai 11y ago

I got somewhat comfortable with that (mostly) male-male framework through engineering college and math school. My experience was exactly yours: the sign of a good job is the absence of criticism, and you could always do better. I'm overall fine with that when I know that's the context, but your 2nd-to-last line is the kicker: give me the bonus or vacation if I did something! Now I'm working with some folks from a more corporate background, and it is a different culture. Very different. I'm still getting used to it myself.