People and Praise...

So my mom sends me an article by Po Bronson called How Not to Talk to Your Kids.

The basic point...praising someone by calling them "smart" or just focusing on results can have negative ramifications. Instead, you should praise effort even if the result is failure.

That's right, the whole self-esteem thing is bunk. Ok, slight exaggeration.

The article and research was on kids and teens, but it got me thinking about employees and co-workers.

Are you praising and highlighting only those who get the results? And not highlighting those who show grit, effort, and determination?

If so, what's the problem with that, you ask?

Well, by only highlighting results, it seems that you are encouraging people/kids not to take risks, because they don't want to fail (in their own eyes or yours).

Counter-productive to long-term success and growth, right?

BTW, Po's written two other books that I really enjoyed...The Nudist on the Late Shift chronicles the birth of the dot com era and  What Should I Do With My Life is a great work for you, if you think you may be in the wrong line of work.