We have a tendency to say great job you are a natural or something along those lines when a prot�g� does a great job at completing a task. Even though it seems well meaning at the time, it could place a burden on that prot�g� because then they will try to be perfect all the time. Your prot�g� will start believing that they are a natural when they receive these kinds of praises all the time.
There is nothing wrong with being perfect as much as you can, but after awhile your performance will dwindle with that constant stress. This will occur because when you praise the person they will ultimately destroy their own success due to a fear of failure when doing the next task. This will cause your prot�g� to decrease their effort or avoid the task all together. They will feel threatened that they will be found out that they do not have the natural talents that everyone has been saying that they have. This will then cause them to start to blame external situations. With that comes the many excuse like blaming a car accident, the weather, family issues, etc. because naturals don't make mistakes.
In order to try to prevent this from occurring, try not to link encouragement to the personality or character of the person. Try focusing on a specific process which will bring about the desired end results that you are striving for. If you do this, the feedback you give will make your prot�g� more willing to change their ways. To achieve the necessary results any feedback that you offer should be specific, visible, and measurable. Here is an example of what you should say. �It was a good job the way you closed that deal. You followed the procedure very well. This will get their interest and you have definitely peeked their interest in purchasing your service.�
Hopefully now you can see how the wrong kind of praise can ruin someone. It is a fine line. You definitely do not want to over praise, but also you want to remember not to give too much criticism as well. When praising someone, praise them in how well they went through the process to complete the job. This is what will make them successful in the future.
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Michael Gultz has 10 years of experience working with small business owners who
are looking for strategies for success as a
Small Business Coaching advisor.
