We all know that praise is highly effective in motivating employees and building great teams.

But effective praise is not one-size-fits-all.

HOW and WHEN you deliver the praise can be even more important than the praise itself.

Cookie-cutter approaches in this area can backfire in a big way. If you praise an employee in a way that is not congruent to their personality style, it can actually have the opposite effect.

It can demotivate and cause disengagement.

High dominance personalities enjoy awards and announcements.

High extroversion types love fanfare and complete details surrounding their accomplishments.

High patience personalities like modest but formal recognition that is short and sweet.

High conformity types enjoy proper and genuine credit on specific efforts.

Knowing the personality type of each of your employees, and their praise preferences, is a critical component to building teams that leapfrog past the competition.