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By Darryl Stewart
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Why it is bad to compliment the new employee on a job well done

Why it is bad to compliment the new employee on a job well done

Recently, a new employee of IBEX Payroll did a great job on some work. I saw the work, I was impressed, and I began writing a congratulatory email directly to the employee. Sounds like the right thing to do, doesn’t it?

It wasn’t.

This person does not report to me. Despite my best intentions, sending this note would have undermined the authority of this person’s boss. What I did instead was send an email to the boss, congratulating them on leading some really good work and making what appears to be a great hire.

Our job as leaders is to build the capacity of our teams, delegate work, and support the authority of those below us. We can praise the team’s results, but we can’t give direct performance feedback to people who don’t report directly to us. That role is reserved for a person’s immediate supervisor. By building up those below us, we help develop their leadership skills and we free up our own time to move our goals forward and get the important stuff done.

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IBEX Payroll extends our profound respect and immeasurable gratitude to all the ancestors and keepers of the land on whose traditional territories our work takes place. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people. This land is sacred, historical, and significant. 

Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on the wrongs of the past, what we do in the present, and what we can do to continually honour the people whose lands and water we benefit from today. 

This statement only acts as a first step in honouring the land we reside on and its peoples, and must be paired with education, understanding and informed action.