Vague praise inspires vague effort - here’s the 30 second fix.
I coached basketball for years and now work with corporate teams. If I could teach leaders only one habit to build trust and collaboration, it would be sharing more specific thanks.
Here’s how I learned it. A player of mine came off the court after a strong stretch, and I gave him a quick “Good job.” He didn’t react at all. No nod, no eye contact, nothing. I remember being a little annoyed that he didn’t seem to appreciate the appreciation.
Later it hit me that the problem wasn’t him. My praise was so vague he had nothing to hold onto. “Good job” could have meant his defense, his hustle, or that I was just being polite. He had no idea what to repeat.
Vague praise can only inspire vague effort.
So now as a workplace culture speaker, I share a simple recognition formula with leaders – and it is the cheapest way you can build morale and collaboration on your team:
1 What they did. “You stayed late Tuesday to walk Marcus through the new system.”
2 Who it helped. “He shipped his first project on his own the next day.”
3 What it says about them. “That’s the kind of teammate people want next to them.”
It takes less than 30 seconds... Action, Impact, Identity.
It teaches the team what good looks like, and rewards behavior you want repeated. And team collaboration usually grows when people see that helping gets noticed, not because they were told to collaborate.
Try it this week with someone on your team - pick one person who does quiet quality work, and thank them using those three parts.
Think about your own experience... what’s the best piece of specific recognition you ever received, and how did it affect your performance afterward?