What are you proud of in your work?

Pride. It is almost as if we aren't allowed to feel it, at least not too much. 'Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg' (just act normal, that's crazy enough) is the motto many people in the Netherlands grew up with. Delivering a top performance is nice, but you must keep your feet on the ground.

That is actually strange, says Eduard van Brakel, author and editor who writes about leadership and management. Boom Management Being proud of your achievements is good for people. If you have put time and effort into something and created something you look back on with satisfaction, why shouldn't you be proud? It is good for your passion, and good for your work engagement.

Because when do you get good at something? When you like doing it and enjoy it. Top tennis players once started because tennis looked like fun. They carried on because they enjoyed it and kept getting better at it, and then they looked for ways to get even better. That comes with ups and downs, and there are less enjoyable moments too, but enjoyment is the basis.

Performance comes from enjoyment

Performance comes from enjoyment, and that applies not only in sport but also at work. Nobody gets motivated if all they hear is what they are doing wrong. No colleague delivers better work if they are constantly told about points for improvement. And nobody performs at their best with a manager breathing down their neck pointing out everything that is going wrong and the consequences of mistakes. When people work like that, there is no pride and no engagement. Gallup research also shows how big the manager's influence is: 70% of the differences in engagement between teams are linked to the manager. Gallup

Pride and engagement do arise when we are allowed to work on what we are good at. When we are allowed to make work fun and there is laughter. When we get to work on great projects and don't have to be afraid of making a mistake. When the working environment is safe, more good things happen. Results come, people are engaged and proud, and they talk endlessly about what they do, how much fun it is and how they can contribute.

Let pride in

Then we are proud. Proud of ourselves, proud of our team and proud of the organisation. And then, together, we suddenly get much further. So let pride into your organisation and encourage it. And simply ask each other: what are you proud of in your work? And what needs to happen so that you can be proud even more often?

Also read increasing pride by celebrating your successes and for flow, you need to be allowed to be yourself.

About this article: this piece is based on a blog by Eduard van Brakel.