Ashish KothariMake flourishing your competitive edge

Compliment the Process, Not Just the Result #shorts

2 May 2025 · 1 min

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Ashish Kothari recounts a mentor's question: who works harder, the person for whom work is easy or the person who struggles? Leaders should praise effort and process, not just results. Acknowledge the grind, especially in people hired for their insecurity and drive to overachieve.

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One of my mentors asked me this question and it changed everything for me. Think about who we hired at McKinsey, right? Every person we hire, we hire insecure overachievers who are trying their best to do the best thing they can, right? And he said to me the following. He said, Ashish, let me ask you a question. Who do you think is working longer, harder and is putting more of their heart and soul into it? The person for whom this work comes easy or the person who's struggling? And I thought about it and I was like, oh my God. So the person I'm only giving compliment on the output, not on the input. And if I think about the input they're putting in, they're giving it their best. And it's my job as a leader to reflect that, to tell them I see you and as a leader step in to help where they need help by asking them what's missing.