Two Words That Mean The World
Not “Here’s money!” or
“Take holiday!” but something much simpler: “Thank you” and “Well done!”
In the day-to-day bustle and rush of office life, we can
forget that people are making an effort to keep things moving. From our point of view, it may not be the
amount of effort we think they could put in, or the amount we ourselves could,
but for them it may be more than that.
People like to feel valued
(this is one of Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of
Needs“); thanking or praising them are cost-free ways of doing this
(although they shouldn’t be seen as substitutes for financial rewards or other
rewards in kind).
I’m not advocating that we should thank or praise people for
just coming to work every morning (although a simple “Good morning” works
wonders). When they do do something that involves putting in extra effort or going
slightly out of their way (for them personally), then no harm done. They see that their efforts are acknowledged
and appreciated. They’ll repeat that
behaviour.
If we can do it in public, in front of other staff and
colleagues, so much the better.
Different people see “extra effort” in different ways. Don't try to adopt the same standard with
everyone. As Einstein is supposed to
have said, “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to
climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
These two words can bring about performance or behavioural
improvements if we catch people doing the right things or behaving the right
way. This is to be encouraged. At times, it may involve praising the smaller
things to encourage progress to larger ones and we will have to explain this to
other colleagues who may not understand what’s going on. It all starts somewhere…
In short: a person who feels appreciated tends to do more
than is expected.
Now what’s that worth?
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 09:02
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