Knowing when to criticize and praise

If you want to be known as a good boss, popular with your team, respected by the leaders in your sport and envied by your contemporaries, it’s easy. Just do what baseball manager Bobby Cox did for 29 seasons while leading the Atlanta Braves to five National League pennants and a World Series title.

Cox wasn’t much of a big-league player — he batted .225 in two seasons with the Yankees — but he flourished as a leader by working hard (he was often the first one at the ballpark for his 4,641 games as a manager), bringing out the best in his players, respecting everyone from his stars to the grounds crew and clubhouse guys, and representing his profession with passion and dignity.

But Cox’s greatest respect from his players resulted from a philosophy and style that is easily emulated by leaders today in any profession. He eschewed public criticism of his players, even when they made boneheaded plays and decisions, in favor of praising their hustle, attitude and splendid play at every opportunity. He also famously defended them with umpires, a practice that got him ejected from games a record 162 times.

“He makes all the difference in the world to players who come in here,” said Terry Pendleton, Cox’s third baseman on several of his 14 consecutive division champions and later the team’s hitting coach. “You’ll go through times where you can’t find the plate, or you can’t hit the ball out of the infield. Bobby Cox makes you feel as if you’re the most important player on the ballclub.”

Of course, Cox was neither the first nor the most famous of those to embrace the praise-over-criticism leadership modus operandi.

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit” has been attributed to (most notably) presidents Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan, English journalist Charles Edward Montague, American author Edward Everett Hale and longtime Coca-Cola chief Robert Woodruff. In their seminal guidance for managerial excellence, “The One Minute Manager,” published in 1982, authors Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson advise unequivocally: “Criticize in private and praise in public.”

In fact, the most common criticism of many supervisors is that they too often take credit for the work done by others. A 2019 BambooHR study found that taking credit for employee’s work was rated the worst managerial behavior by 63 percent of survey respondents.

At this time of year, with temperatures are on the rise and either too much or too little rainfall, criticism for turf professionals comes by the bale and bucketful while praise can be in short supply. Those seasonal pressures make it a great time to recognize your crew. When doing so, consider three important elements of effective praise:

Make it personal. “Steve gets in early, stays late and does his best to out-hustle those afternoon storms.”

Make it timely. Even kind words can sound stale and disconnected when they’re not delivered in a timely manner.

Make it meaningful. A dedicated parent appreciates a complimentary personal note written to his or her spouse or partner. Someone with a long commute to and from work values a gift card for a tank of gas. A mom who normally cooks for her family after a long day loves a meal prepared and served by someone else in a nice restaurant.

Teacher, writer and blogger Steve DeMaio offers further guidance:

Be specific. “You did a great job re-sodding that ground-under-repair area on number 14” means a lot more than a casual “You’re doing a great job.”

Don’t confuse politeness with praise. Daily courtesies should be a given in a professional work environment; praise for a job well done requires intention.

Praise with action, not just words. Back your compliments with actions — a bonus or an incremental benefit — that acknowledges top performers.

Don’t dilute praise with backhanded criticism. “You did a nice job fixing that greens mower, but you forgot to sharpen the bedknife.” How’s that for a buzzkill?

Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Jerry Kramer tells of the quiet and powerful dressing-down he once received from his legendary coach, Vince Lombardi. After Lombardi’s thorough criticism of his blocking technique, Kramer remembers Lombardi messing with his hair and telling him, “You’re improving every day. I look forward to seeing you in the Hall of Fame.”

Kramer took the praise to heart and spent the rest of his career helping to clear the way for the Packers’ march to five NFL titles and two Super Bowls. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.