How Public Praise Can Become Demotivating in Teams

Wait…How praise can become demotivating?  We’ve all been taught to “Praise in public and criticize in private,” this is a very famous quote from Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, right?  Isn’t this widely accepted as the standard for helping motivate people? 

Green Bay Packers & Coach Vince Lombardi

The answer is both...

“yes” and “no.”

All Motivation is Self-Motivation

First, remember that nobody can motivate another person.  A person cannot truly motivate someone else because motivation is an internal process driven by personal values, needs, and goals; external actions can only create conditions that influence or stimulate that internal drive. According to Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory, motivation arises from within when individuals experience autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and external attempts to “motivate” someone often undermine these psychological needs (Deci & Ryan, 2000). While leaders and peers can inspire, encourage, or reward, the decision to act ultimately rests with the individual, who must internalize the reason for doing so. Attempts to control or externally compel motivation may result in only short-term compliance or, worse, resentment and disengagement (Pink, 2009). Therefore, effective leadership focuses on creating an environment that supports intrinsic motivation rather than trying to impose it from the outside.  So, the “yes,” is that the praise may help create the environment that supports intrinsic motivation.

O.K., so where does the “no” come in? 

Recognizing employee contributions is indispensable for building morale, trust, and engagement. However, when recognition is uneven, such as when a supervisor praises only one employee in a group email despite equal contributions from the team, it can have unintended negative consequences. Employees who are not acknowledged may feel overlooked, leading to demotivation, resentment, or disengagement (Cameron & Pierce, 2002). This kind of selective recognition may signal to others that their efforts are unseen or less valuable than those that were mentioned.  The result is a reduced sense of appreciation and reduced psychological safety and belonging (Edmondson, 1999).

Long-term, such actions may damage team cohesion and increase perceptions of favoritism. When recognition is perceived as inconsistent or inequitable, it can erode trust in leadership and lower job satisfaction (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). Teams are then impacted and may experience reduced collaboration, communication breakdowns, and increased turnover because people don’t feel their contribution matters.  

When people feel less valued than others in a group or workplace, they may express their feelings through indirect or direct phrases that reflect resentment, discouragement, or disengagement. Some common phrases you might hear include:

• "I guess my work doesn’t matter as much.”

• “Why do they always get the credit?”

• “No one even noticed how much I contributed.”

• “It feels like I’m invisible around here.”

• “I don’t even know why I bother.”

• “Some people can do no wrong.”

• "My job doesn’t matter.

• “It’s always the same people getting recognized.”

• “I feel like I’m just a warm body.”

• “Apparently, my effort isn’t enough.”

• “Must be nice to be one of the favorites.”

What disengagement may look like

These statements are often signs of declining morale and may indicate a growing sense of inequity, which can damage team cohesion, psychological safety, and ultimately the performance of other employees.  So, the “no,” is that individual praise in public, without being inclusive of others may help create an environment with the perception of “favorites,” “in-groups,” and resentment may be prevalent. Addressing these perceptions early and equitably is critical to maintaining a healthy work environment.

Can you see these behaviors in your team members?

So, what do we do?  Not praise anyone, that seems “demotivating” also!

To avoid the negative outcomes yet provide an environment that supports intrinsic motivation, leaders should ensure that all recognition practices are all-encompassing, fairly given, and clearly tied to objective statistical or data-driven performance indicators. Highlighting individual achievements can still be appropriate but should be balanced with team-oriented acknowledgment to reinforce a culture of shared success.  This is why the answer is “yes” and “no.”

Also consider whether the praise is genuine or is it "Performative Praise." Performative praise is a form of recognition that appears to celebrate someone’s efforts or accomplishments but is actually motivated by the praiser’s desire to appear supportive, competent, or generous, often to an audience. It is more about optics than authenticity. This may be in the form of praising someone at a meeting where the "Big Bosses" will be in attendance, or an email CC'ed to influential people or to the entire team or organization.

Performative praise can have negative effects on the individual being praised, the broader team, and the entire organization. For the individual, it may lead to feelings of being used or manipulated, especially if the praise lacks authenticity or is not accompanied by meaningful support, resulting in decreased motivation and trust (Grant, 2013). For the team, such praise can foster resentment, create perceptions of favoritism, and undermine team cohesion, as members may view the recognition as politically motivated rather than merit-based (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). At the organizational level, repeated instances of performative praise can erode the culture of genuine recognition and transparency, leading to cynicism, reduced psychological safety, and diminished engagement across the workforce (Edmondson, 2019).

Putting It All Together:

Supervisors and managers should apply recognition practices that are fair, transparent, and reflective of actual contributions across the entire team. All-encompassing recognition builds morale, selective recognition can destroy it.  Let’s create the environment and culture that supports intrinsic motivation. If you're going to praise an individual in public, make sure that praise is genuine, and also reflects the efforts and contributions of the entire team and/or the organization.

Quotes to put into practice:

• “I never lose. Either I win or learn.”

  • – Nelson Mandela

• “Remember no one can make you feel inferior without consent.”

  • – Elenore Roosevelt

References

• Cameron, J., & Pierce, W. D. (2002). Rewards and intrinsic motivation: Resolving the controversy. Bergin & Garvey.

• Cropanzano, R., & Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of Management, 31(6), 874–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602

• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01

• Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999

• Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.

• Grant, A. (2013). Give and take: A revolutionary approach to success. Viking.

• Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations (6th ed.). Jossey-Bass.

• Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Riverhead Books.