Do the people you lead seek your approval? In other words, are they in the habit of trying to make you happy? While approval might be good for the ego, it does little to help the people or the team be awesome.
The problem with wanting approval from another is that they will likely sacrifice something about themselves to conform to what will get the approval. While the approval might give a short-term boost to the ego, it will leave the person feel dissatisfied and stressed as they’re inauthentic.
Rather than giving them your approval, ask powerful questions to get them to find approval from within. What was good about that? What do you want to acknowledge about yourself? What do you celebrate about yourself? Then, help them celebrate with a simple “congratulations” or “that’s awesome!”
The best part is they’ll start to see for themselves just how much they’re winning.
You’ve got this.