Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment,” and I think many of us would agree with him.

The “business” of delivering business solutions can be a stressful and, at times, seemingly thankless one. My “practical” advice for the day would be to seek out opportunities to recognize, thank, and compliment your stakeholders and solution delivery team members for the work they’re doing and for the assistance they provide in helping you do your work as an analyst.

Not only does a compliment or a small act of kindness serve as a “pick-me-up” for the recipient, but, when sincerely given, it can serve to help grease the skids of collaborative team work, and help establish collaborative and trust-based relationships with peers and teammates.

Recall the last time you were complimented on the fine requirements model you had produced, and how easy it made understanding the business need, or what a fine job you did facilitating that discovery session. As I recall, times like these really made me want to do that much better the next time, and they made me really enjoy working with someone who appreciated my efforts and contributions.

So, again, my “practical” tip for the day would be to seek out opportunities daily to thank and compliment your stakeholders and delivery team members. Acknowledge how much you appreciate their efforts and recognize that you couldn’t be successful without them.

You’ll find that establishing a pattern of giving thanks and recognizing the efforts of others will make you a desired teammate, cause others to be more patient of you in your occasional shortcomings, and help you establish important and rewarding professional relationships that will last a lifetime.

Have any experiences trying this out, or has a well-timed compliment every really made the difference for you personally? I’d love to hear about it!