This week’s Quick List* is a companion to our Quote of the Week: Appreciation can make a day…
Through appreciation, leaders can make a day, even change a life. And in doing one or both of those, one could expect a boost in morale, productivity, engagement, retention and overall performance.
Yet over and over and over – I hear from workers from a wide assortment of industries, professions and positions that they don’t feel appreciated. They don’t feel recognized for their contributions and achievements.
Are their leaders greedy, unappreciative mongors? Or are the leaders under-appreciated and overwhelmed themselves? Or do they think they are showing appreciation but doing it poorly? Or are these workers so hardened that the appreciation they are given sits on the surface instead of sinking in.
Here are 10 tips for showing appreciation in meaningful ways – in ways that have more of a chance of sinking in.
1. Tailor to each individual’s likes and lifestyle. If you don’t know much about each individual on your team, now is a good time to start collecting tidbits. Not with a survey but by paying attention. It’s amazing what you can learn by just listening to a person talk about her weekend that included night time golf, some gardening, a Little League game and a WizBang concert. Or at a lunch outing where you find out those who steer clear of gluten, meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, etc. Keeping notes like these can help you give gifts that are more on target and extra meaningful. When you give a team member a gift basket that contains neon glow-in-the-dark golf balls, the latest WizBang CD and gluten free cookies, he or she will be WOWed.
2. Tailor to each person’s personality. Introverts may be totally embarrassed by public accolades. If you do “salute” anyone in public, I suggest you also give a written or typed note as well, since the person may not be able to absorb what is said because of self-consciousness.
3. Be specific. If you want to say, “Thanks for doing such a great job”, that’s okay. Make it more meaningful by adding detail such as, “Your attention to detail makes it so much easier for me to do my job better. And your positive attitude helps everyone on the team stay focused on providing the services our clients need so badly. “
4. Personal note. Gifts and awards are nice but not absolutely necessary. A handwritten note of appreciation or congratulations will mean much and will likely be kept for years.
5. Appreciate the group, but don’t overlook individuals. If you do lots of group appreciation events like the ones we’ve suggested here, do your best to recognize each individual from time to time as well, perhaps with a personal note appreciating what he or she specifically brings to the group.
6. Listen to yourself. “Great job!” “Great job!” Here a “Great job!” There a “Great job!” Everywhere a “Great job!” You may mean it every time you say it and may therefore feel like you show lots of appreciation. But if they hear you say the same thing over and over and to everyone, your words will lose meaning. Take time to listen to yourself. Be aware. If you want to keep saying “Great job”, that’s just fine. Just know that additional forms of appreciation will be needed in order to make your team members feel truly appreciated.
7. Get your team involved. Don’t feel like all appreciation must come from you. At your next staff meeting, take 5 minutes for an exercise like this. Ask each individual to write a note to the person sitting to his right that says, “I appreciate _____ because ______________.” So if John is sitting to my right, my note will say, “I appreciate John because he is smart, detail-oriented and always in a good mood.”
Or you can make a sheet for each person that says at the top: “I admire John because…” or “I admire Mary because…” The rest of the sheet is blank until you pass them around the table and have each person write a few words about each person.
At the end, simply pass the notes or sheets to the appropriate person. Most people glow for an entire day afterwards. And most people keep such notes which may be even more valuable on a dreary day.
Repeat such exercises periodically – at least once each quarter – and you will build an appreciative culture.
8. Get your boss involved. Some of the most memorable notes I’ve received have come from my bosses’ boss or a colleague of my boss and have said something like, “Kay told me about how you _____. Wow! Amazing!” The fact that she was bragging about me to someone else made me know it was sincere and made me feel extra appreciated.
9. Be sure you mean it. If you send someone a note of praise and appreciation one week and fire him a few weeks later, you may cause yourself problems. Not just legal problems, but credibility problems. Will others on the team believe your notes of appreciation in the future?
10. Think frequency and recency. Remember how busy, stressed and fried most people feel. To feel truly appreciated, they need to hear about it frequently. And it needs to be recent. Showing your appreciation during Administrative Professionals Week is not enough. I suggest you keep a chart of some kind that includes all the people who report to you, what you do to show appreciation and the dates you do it. To help yourself and everyone else remember the importance of appreciation, post this quote about appreciation on computer and bulletin boards all over your office.
Related Articles:
- 10 More Reasons to Show Appreciation
- 10 Gift Ideas for Administrative Professionals
- 9 Fun Ideas for Office Professionals Week
* This weekly feature is for managers who don’t have time or don’t want to make time to read lengthy articles or even short paragraphs. We call it a Quick List. AKA – 10 by 10 on Tuesday. 10 ( ideas or tips or questions or steps or ways to Get 2 Goal or Be a Better Manager, etc) by 10 (AM – EST) on Tuesdays. Click here if you’d like to see all Quick Lists created to date.
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