Teamwork: All For One Or One For All?

"No member of a crew is praised for the rugged individuality of his rowing."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I suppose because all that rowing was always only about getting the shell across the finish line before the other team?

Maybe it's similar to the lack of attention paid to the effort of any one individual ant by all the other ants in the colony. If they don't all work, the colony dies.

But still, no praise for individual effort within a team?

Praise: The Role in Management

"We increase whatever we praise. The whole creation responds to praise, and is glad."

Charles Fillmore
19th Century Religious Philosopher

"The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism."

Norman Vincent Peale
20th Century Preacher/Author

Another case of seemingly dueling quotes; this time regarding the role of praise, both coming from religious people.

I've struggled with this in my career sometimes criticized by those who worked for me as not giving enough praise. In each case I thought a lot about the situation sometimes agreeing that I could have done more but more often than not feeling as Mr. Peale apparently did. Circumstances simply did not justify what would have at best been a false compliment.

How do you handle this?