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This site is dedicated to Personal Development. Unlike many Personal Development or Self Improvement sites, I do not claim to be an expert, rather this site is a collection of my experiences and interesting articles and other resources I have found on my journey. |
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| The Power of Encouragement |
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I was walking the winding looping steep trail at my local park on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The trail is about a half of a mile and very steep in some portions. A great workout. So here I was walking at a very fast pace. A stranger in workout gear was running the opposite direction. He was very fit and looked like he was having a good run. As he passed me he yelled out "way to go!" He was looking directly at me. I was somewhat shocked at being addressed by a stranger. Who was he anyway? On the second lap I earned a smile and a " keep going!" On the third lap a big wave. So here I was starting to feel good about the encouragement of a stranger! This was an amazing experience and really got me thinking. I wanted to do well for my new "coach". I actually ran the last lap to please him. Think about it. All people need to feel good; to get and give energy, to have encouragement, appreciation and acknowledgement. So here is the big issue; many leaders don't take the energy and time to provide any form of encouragement at all. None! Encouragemant as a tool can have great power. I want you to think about being the Head Motivator. Now you are saying to yourself- "here goes the motivational seminar stuff." Nope. I am just saying that in a leadership role, your job is to get results. That is it. Results. So how do you get these great results?- through people. So do you want to be effective as the Chief Encouragement Officer? Here are tips and techniques that can work really well in order to help you fullfill your new role. Speak to all people- Many times I have seen a "big wig" walk into a room at a big meeting with hundreds of employees, pass by everyone, ignoring them and greeting other " big wigs " on the far side of the room. How silly is that? They were making the small people feel even smaller. This created resentment and people felt slighted. Who would blame them? What a huge error. When you are touring or visiting an office or even in your own offices do you take the time to say "hello" to people? Maybe you are pressed for time. Do you at least give people non verbal positive signals? They need the small gestures of acknowledgement. Take note of their efforts- Lower level employees often tell me they never ever get any credit for their work. So when employees work really hard do something "over and above" the call of duty, make sure to notice and say something about it. When people do wonderful work let them know! It's important to publically and privately (one on one) acknowledge people when they do great work. I was once a Vice President at a big company that had 80,000 employees. At times when I saw something I felt was great, I would find out who did it and I would write them a short handwritten note of appreciation, thanking them for doing such a wonderful job. When I traveled I would go in someone's office (or cube) and well look at that- I woulde see the card I wrote pinned up on their wall. This taught me an important life lesson- that everyone wants to be appreciated. Bees and honey- There is an old saying in the south "you attract bees with honey not vinegar." It's not a comment about bees it's a comment about humans. It is easy to be critical really easy. Most people screw up alot. But the problem is these people already beat up on themselves on a regular basis. Why do we need to keep adding on to that? It is the big morale killer. It's probably just being human but its not helping at all. As a leadership expert I encourage leaders to try and find a balance between the honey and the vinegar. In many cases there is no honey at all. So some balance- please!. Catch them at their best- Acknowledge efforts and not at time and place it would always be expected. Look, the small things always mean alot. Find small ways to reward your folks. This can be things like a box of danish in the morning, taking someone out for lunch, giving them a few extra perks here and there. Just make sure to let them know it is a reward and what it is a reward for. Tell them " hey- I know you put in countless hours on the Smith Account- thanks for your hard work. Take next friday off." They will appreciate being appreciated. They will go home and tell their familiy about it. They will feel proud. I have leaders ask me all the time "how do I motivate people?" One of the answers is deceptively simple and that is provide encouragement. So start this week- or even today. Why not? About the Author: Shawn is a popular Motivational Speaker and author of 10 books. For a free copy of Shawn's book The 10 Foundations of Motivation, go to http://sldoyle.com. |
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