Praise and Acknowledge Q&A with Lydia Abdullah Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for Finance & Business

is for recognizing an accomplishment – personal or organizational. How do you distinguish the difference between praise and acknowledgment? Praise is for recognizing an accomplishment – personal or organizational.  VS Acknowledgment is more intimate/personal because you are recognizing and validating the existence of a person – not that they’ve actually accomplished a task.  It is as simple as saying “hello” or making eye contact in a meeting.

Receiving- Providing- Can you share your most memorable experience either providing or receiving praise or acknowledgment? Receiving- When former Senior Vice President for Finance & Business, Al Horvath, asked me to accept the position as director and begin the infrastructure for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. It was the acknowledgement for decades of doing the work without having a seat at the table. Providing- speaking at a retirement party for a former boss; sharing truth and moving people to tears and personal accountability.

What lesson or lessons did you learn from that? Was there a time you gave praise or acknowledgment and it wasn’t well received? Yes - I wanted to share with someone’s peers a coveted honor they were awarded but she wanted nothing to do with it.  Mainly because she felt it might hurt those that had not received that honor when they retired.    What lesson or lessons did you learn from that? That you must know how people want to be given praise and acknowledgment, if at all.  Particularly our veterans and police. That means you have to take the time to listen and “know” them and not do what you think is right or convenient.

What best practices have you observed, experienced or heard in regards to praise or acknowledgment? You must be sincere/authentic - people know when you are phony. Do it immediately so that people know what it’s for – 6 months after the fact is less effective because they’ve moved on to the next thing. Has to be given in a form that they will receive it – that means learning to be selfless. You shouldn’t do it because you want it to be reciprocated or you need something from them. It doesn’t have to be about work or what was produced – it can be about attitude and other non-tangibles. Example: If someone is supportive and just manages to make you feel better; acknowledge it and let them know you are grateful.

How do you make sure you are equitably distributing praise and acknowledgment without seeming like there is favoritism involved? I don’t know if you can totally avoid how some people will assess your efforts, but you do need to make the effort to pay attention to how others respond when someone is praised.   Again, going beyond yourself to meet someone else’s needs. And it will not always be equal – depending on the situation, someone may need more to be healed, restored or uplifted.

How do I ask my employee how they like to be praised or acknowledged? Observe more and interact with them instead of asking.

How should failures or mistakes be addressed? When projects or assignments don’t go as planned, what is your approach to providing feedback and encouragement for the future? Discuss it sooner rather than later; explain the bigger picture and how they impact others with what they do or fail to do. Document it so that there is a record of what was done and how we agreed to correct it. How should failures or mistakes be addressed? Letting them know that this will not be the last time it happens and others (including myself) have and will continue to fail some attempts.