Compliments & Gratitude for a Positive Organisational Culture

One of the top priorities of any organisation is the establishment of positive organisational culture.  This is a culture where different stakeholders support each other, because they recognise that together, they are part of a greater whole.  People need to feel recognised, enfranchised, celebrated.  This buys commitment and loyalty. 

One of the simplest ways of reinforcing this positive organisational culture is to inculcate this habit of praise and gratitude for good work done.  This praise and gratitude has to be sincere for it to be effective in raising morale.  Positive feedback and affirmation mitigates stress and pressure, improving team performance.  The brain processes these affirmations in the same manner as financial rewards.  The positive effect of praise and gratitude is greatly underestimated. 

Psychologists have recognised that there is a critical psychological barrier to reinforcing positive organisational culture: it is our mistaken expectation of the efficacy of praise and compliments.  For some reason, people doubt themselves, and are self-conscious when it comes to giving compliments.  There is this unsupported sense of anxiety, which leaves people pessimistic about the effects of their compliments, a sort of importer syndrome.  This is that barrier which must be overcome, and leadership must set that example. 

To compound the conundrum, even after complimenting, because people are unable to comprehend the profound effect of compliments and praise on others, they were unable to realise the efficacy of it, and change their behaviour.  This can be addressed through group activities to build that rapport and culture.  Another way is to have mentors instill it in them through example.  The idea is to focus on the positive emotional aspect, as opposed to the need to craft compliments.  For this to work, it must be seen to be genuine.  Compliments and gratitude should be seen as a norm in communications, not an exception.  It does not lose its value when it ceases to be rare.