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APPRECIATE “People cannot be fulfilled in their work if they are not known. All human beings need to be understood and appreciated for their unique qualities by someone in a position of authority. As much as this may sound like an aphorism from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, it is undeniably true. People who see themselves as invisible, generic, or anonymous cannot love their jobs, no matter what they are doing.” - Patrick Lencione, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job MY TO-DO: I will devote time to get to know my people. Their interests. Their strengths. Their aspirations. |
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APPRECIATE “Catching people doing things right is a powerful management concept. Unfortunately, most leaders have a genius for catching people doing things wrong. I always recommend that leaders set aside time each day to wander around their operation catching people doing things right. Showing your appreciation provides satisfaction and motivates good performance. But remember, give praise immediately, make it specific, and finally encourage people to keep up the good work.” Ken Blanchard, The Heart of a Leader MY TO-DO; Today, I will closely observe the way the work is carried out and immediately acknowledge and reinforce those who are doing things right. |
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APPRECIATE “Day-to-day praise and recognition must be frequent. Gallup’s research shows that for employees to feel valued and committed to a workplace, they need to receive some form of recognition every seven days. Yet, according to research done by Gallup, sixty-five percent of North Americans report that they weren’t recognized or felt appreciated in the least bit the previous year. At work managers too often act like the misanthropic husband who was criticized by his wife for never expressing affection. He replied, “Look, I told you I loved you when we were dating. If that ever changes, I’ll let you know.” That approach rarely works at home and rarely flies at work. In our personal lives, we tell the people we care about that they matter just about every day. We say we love them (or at least we should). The workplace equivalent of “I love you” is “Thanks.” Chester Elton, The Carrot Principle MY TO-DO: Today, I will make a point of expressing my appreciation and saying “thanks” to one or more members of the team. |
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APPRECIATE “Many well-intentioned leaders wait to praise their people until they do things exactly right - complete the project or accomplish the goal. The problem here is that they could wait forever. You see, “exactly right” behavior is made up of a whole series of approximately right behaviors. It makes more sense to praise progress - it’s a moving target. Can you imagine standing a child up and saying, “Walk,” and when he falls down, you say, “I told you to walk!” and then spank him. Of course not. You stand the child up and he wobbles a bit. You shout, “You stood! and shower him with hugs and kisses. The next day he wobbles a step and you are all over him with praise. Gradually, the child gains confidence until he finally walks. It’s the same with adults. Catch them doing things right - and in the beginning, approximately right is fine.” Ken Blanchard, The Heart of a Leader MY TO-DO: Today, I will recognize one or more new employees for the progress they are making in learning their jobs. |
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APPRECIATE Belief in others’ abilities is essential to making extraordinary things happen. Exemplary leaders elicit high performance because they strongly believe in the abilities of their constituents to achieve even the most challenging goals. That’s because positive expectations profoundly influence not only your constituents’ aspirations but also, often unconsciously, how you behave toward them. Your beliefs about people are broadcast in ways you may not even be aware of. You give off cues that say to people either “I know you can do it” or “There’s no way you’ll ever be able to do that.” You can’t realize the highest level of performance unless you let people know in word and deed that you are confident that they can attain it.” Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge MY TO-DO: I will let each employee know I believe in them and their ability to succeed. |
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APPRECIATE “Exemplary leaders bring others to life, figuratively speaking. These leaders dramatically improve others’ performance because they care deeply for them and have an abiding faith in their capacities. Constituents are able to respond positively to these expectations not only because they have the abilities but also because leaders are more nurturing, supportive, and encouraging toward people in whom they believe. Research on the phenomenon of self-fufilling prophecies provides ample evidence that people act in ways that are consistent with others’ expectations of them. When you expect people to fail they probably will. If you expect them to succeed, they probably will.” Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge MY TO-DO: I will show my confidence in each person’s ability to meet or exceed expectations. |
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APPRECIATE Believing in others is an extraordinarily powerful force in propelling performance. If you want your constituents to have a winning attitude, you have to do two things. First, you have to believe that your constituents are already winners. It’s not that they will be winners someday; they are winners right now! If you believe that people are winners, you will treat them that way. Second, if you want people to be winners, you have to behave in ways that communicate to them that they are winners - not just through your words but also through your tone of voice, posture, gestures, and facial expressions. No yelling, frowning, cajoling, making fun of them, or putting them down in front of others. Instead, it’s about being friendly, positive, supportive and encouraging. Offer positive reinforcement, share lots of information, listen deeply to people’s input, provide them with sufficient resources to do their jobs, give them increasingly challenging assignments, and lend them your support and assistance. Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge MY TO-DO: Today, I will let people know hey are all “winners”. |
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APPRECIATE “It’s important to understand that genuine recognition does not have to include anything tangible. Exemplary leaders make tremendous use of intrinsic rewards - rewards that are built into the work itself, including such factors as a sense of accomplishment, a chance to be creative, and the challenge of the work - all directly tied to an individual’s effort. These rewards are far more important than salary and fringe benefits in improving job satisfaction, commitment, retention and performance. Praise and coaching are significant forms of recognition as well. Often it’s the simple personal gestures that are the most powerful rewards. The techniques that you use are less important than your genuine expression of caring. People appreciate knowing that you care about them, and they are more caring about what they are doing as a result. When you genuinely care, even the smallest gestures reap huge rewards.” Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge MY TO-DO: Today I will reinforce each person’s individual worth to the team and to the company. |
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APPRECIATE It’s always worth a few extra moments to recognize someone’s hard work and contributions. All too often, people forget to extend a hand, a smile, or a simple thank you. People naturally feel a little frustrated and unappreciated when their manager or a colleague takes them for granted. Sometimes this can be overlooked because people are under the pressure of deadlines, and the mandate to deliver on time overtakes expressing gratitude. But it’s really important that you stick around for that extra minute to say thanks. Making a point of regularly saying thank you goes a long way in sustaining high performance. Personalized recognition comes down to being thoughtful. It means knowing enough about another person to answer the question, “What could I do to make this a memorable experience so that this person will always remember how important his or her contributions are?” Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge MY TO-DO: Today, I will make a special effort to “look for the good” and to say thank you. |
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APPRECIATE “Whenever I talk about the power of catching people doing things right, I hear, “Yeah right. You don’t know Harry!” Do you have a “Harry” on your team? If so, perhaps you should take a look at your expectations for that person and see if he or she isn’t currently living down to them. It’s all in what you notice. When you judge someone, it impairs your ability to see him or her clearly. It is as if a filter is screening out everything about that person except what fits your assessment. Fight through your filter and catch your “Harry” doing something right. This will not be easy, but if you persevere, you will notice that your behavior, even your attitude or degree of acceptance toward “Harry” is changing. Try it and see what happens. Then try it again. You might even like it. Guaranteed - - “Harry” will.” Ken Blanchard, The Heart of a Leader MY TO-DO: Today I will adopt the mantra - YOU GET WHAT YOU EXPECT! |
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APPRECIATE When I communicate with people, I do something that I call putting a 10 on their heads. By that I mean that I see everyone as having the potential to be a "10" on a scale of 1 to 10. One of the reasons I do this is that I'm naturally positive. I believe God created every person with value and incredible potential. But the other reason I do this is because I believe most of the time people respond to the expectations of others. If I see someone as a 5, I'll treat him or her as a 5 and speak to this person as a 5. And more than likely, after a while I'll convince this person to act as a 5. What's the value in that? However, if I see someone as a 10, he or she will sense that and is likely to respond in a positive way. If we treat people as who they can become, they will be inspired to rise to the level of our expectations. John C. Maxwell, Everyone Communicates Few Connect MY TO-DO: I will put a “10” on everyone’s head and leave it their until they show me they can’t live up to it. |
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APPRECIATE Many people try to move others by criticizing them or trying to "power up" on them. People generally respond by becoming defensive, behaving combatively, or isolating themselves. Protestant reformer John Knox said, "You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time." On the other hand, if leaders care about each individual as a person, then people respond well to them. The greater the depth of their concern, the broader and longer lasting their influence. Bo Schembechler, former head coach of the University of Michigan football team, remarked, "Deep down, your players must know you care about them. This is the most important thing. I could never get away with what I do if the players felt I didn't care. They know, in the long run, I'm in their corner." People can sense how you feel about them. They can tell the difference between leaders who are using them for their own gain and those who want to help them succeed. People warm up to warm people. They get to know the heart of someone who cares, and they respond well to them. John C. Maxwell, The 360 Degree Leader MY TO-DO: This week, I will show each person, through my words and actions that I am in their corner. |
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APPRECIATE For many years I have enjoyed the friendship of the Cathy family, the leaders of Chick-fil-A. One day when I was having dinner with Truett Cathy, the company's founder, he said, “Do you know how I identify someone who needs encouragement? If the person is breathing they need a pat on the back!" I have yet to meet a person who doesn't enjoy and benefit from encouragement. No one is too successful, old, experienced, or educated to appreciate positive praise and encouragement from another person. As a leader, you have great power to lift people up. Mother Teresa said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless." People enjoy affirmation from a peer. But they really value it from their leader. The words "I'm glad you work with me - you add incredible value to the team," mean a lot coming from someone who has the best interest of the team, department, or organization at heart. If you want people to be positive and to always be glad when they see you coming, encourage them. If you become the chief encourager of the people on your team, they will work hard and strive to meet your positive expectations. John C. Maxwell, The Five Levels of Leadership MY TO-DO: I will have some encouraging words for each person on my team today. |