Praise In Public; Correct In Private | How To Build Trust

As a leader, you’ve probably heard of the phrase Praise In Public; Correct In Private because praise and criticism are necessary for providing feedback to your sales team to develop.

Additionally, when focusing on creating trust and healthy company culture, it’s imperative to remember that when you criticize your sales reps, they will remember most how you made them feel because your fundamental aim as a leader is motivating people to engage in desired behaviors, whether that’s meeting sales quotas, embodying your companies’ mantra, or greater work output.

However, many leaders find constructive criticism challenging, especially when communicating about poor performance. 

Therefore, in this article, we discuss how emotional intelligence is an important aspect of building trust and how to praise in public and correct in private.


The rationale of Praise In Public; Correct In Private

The rationale behind the widespread use of ‘praise in public and criticize in private’ is that praise in public boosts your sales rep’s self-esteem. You’re essentially showing off that individual as the benchmark for desirable behavior. Therefore, it is also a learning and development tool – it’s constructive to those who aren’t matching up without singling them out.

In contrast, while you must address your team’s mistakes, it must be done privately, and you should never constantly remind them of these once discussed. Above all, never publicly shame anyone because this approach will lead to resentment, damaged morale, and a workplace culture that’s headed toward being toxic.

Also read: 15 Ways To Motivate Your Sales Team To Achieve Sales Targets

Emotional Intelligence In Management and Leadership

Above all, as a leader, it’s imperative to understand that your sales team will have different personalities, needs, and desires. However, most critically, everyone has their own way of showing their emotions, so emotional intelligence is vital when considering how to praise in public or criticize in private.

What exactly is emotional intelligence? It’s the capacity to recognize your emotions, understand what they’re telling you, and ultimately understand how they affect others. Yet, it also involves your perception of others, especially understanding how they feel, to manage relationships more effectively.

Managing Emotional Intelligence In The Workplace

In most organizations, praise and recognition are delivered by managers, which is why you need to have high emotional intelligence. In fact, the World Economic Forum ranked emotional intelligence sixth in the top 10 skills employees need to thrive in the workplace.

Therefore, leaders who possess high emotional intelligence are usually very self-aware. Particularly, they’re confident – because they trust their intuition and don’t let their emotions get out of control.

It’s imperative to hone these skills before attempting to Praise In Public and Correct In Private. Below are the four significant aspects of managing emotional intelligence in the workplace: to ultimately praise in public and correct in private.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to identify and recognize your emotions, especially their impact on others. However, it entails using gut feelings to guide your decisions.

Self-Management

Self-management is controlling emotions and behavior and adapting to immediately changing circumstances.

Social Awareness

Social awareness is the ability to sense, understand, and react to others’ emotions while feeling comfortable in their social presence.

Relationship Management

Relationship management is the ability to inspire, influence, connect and manage conflicts with your sales team.

Hone Essential Management Skills & Build High-Performance Sales Teams

A high-performing team is highly motivated. They take on challenges with an eagerness to exceed expectations, and they don’t blindly follow orders; they look to improve upon them.

Leading a team to new heights takes understanding your team’s unique strengths, how to navigate uncharted territory and how to inspire them to reach their maximum potential. It takes a talented leader to do that.

Join SOCO’s Management Mastery course, where we cover the essential management skills every leader needs to bring out the best of their team, whether they’re working in the office, at home, or in a blended environment.

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