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Posts tagged ‘Acknowledgment’

Aug 28

The Power of Acknowledging Others (And Yourself)

One of our deepest needs is to be acknowledged. Unfortunately, it is a skill too few leaders cultivate.

It comes at a cost. The number one driver of employee engagement is recognition and praise. Many studies, including one published in the Harvard Business Review in 2010 about Best Buy, find a direct correlation between employee satisfaction and profits.

There are two things people want more (2)

The best leaders are always looking for opportunities to give praise. It is a powerful motivator that provides the fuel many people need to perform at their best.  Even better, it is infectious. Catch people in the act of doing good, and most will pay it forward.

The most powerful acknowledgement focuses on behaviors, such as completing a work project on time, mentoring a co-worker, or going above and beyond to help a customer. When you acknowledge, you draw attention to something wonderful about a person.

Comments related to how someone looks or dresses has much less impact, and can be taken negatively by the receiver. When done appropriately, it strengthens relationships and builds trust. It can be verbal, or written, and is often most appreciated when done publicly (especially at work).

Acknowledgment Is…

  • Heartfelt
  • Occurs after action (ideally immediately)
  • Highlights good deeds
  • Encouragement

Recall a time when you received sincere acknowledgment, and notice how good it still makes you feel. Now, recall when you completed a project and there was no acknowledgment. Big difference – isn’t it? This is why behaviors that are regularly acknowledge generally increase over time.

Self-Acknowledgement Is Also Vital

Acknowledgement is definitely a two-way street. It can have an even greater impact when we turn it on ourselves. Silently, we are often guilty of calling ourselves names that would cause a fight if someone else said it to our face. Negative self-talk drains energy and pulls us further from our best qualities.

I work with many of my coaching clients to create self-awareness so they notice when they start a  negative internal dialogue, and to substitute positive things they can tell themselves. In addition, giving yourself a verbal pat on the back can help avoid disappointment that follows when your contributions or accomplishments go unrecognized by others.

So, your challenge today and everyday is to catch someone in the act of doing good and acknowledge them. You will discover it makes everyone’s day!

Gregory Alford, MS. Psy., is founder of Accelerated Coaching & Consulting, LLC, and specializes in business, leadership and life coaching and marcom consulting. 

Jul 18

Want A Promotion?

For decades psychology and sociology researchers have used the Five Factor Model (FFM, also called The Big 5) to study what dimensions of personality positively correlate with workplace success.

The Big 5 are (you can take a free Big 5 test here):Some people regard discipline as a

  • Openness (or intellect)
  • Conscientiousness
  • Extroversion
  • Agreeableness
  • Neuroticism (or emotional stability)

Why Conscientiousness Often = Success

The two dimensions proven to have the strongest connection to success at work are conscientiousness and extroversion. In Monday’s blog, I will cover extroversion, so the focus for the moment falls squarely on the broad shoulders of conscientiousness.

Conscientiousness is the predisposition to be disciplined, organized, goal directed, thorough, efficient, deliberative, and able to delay gratification. In the office, these are the people who have spotless desks, are reliable, and get desired results. Over time, they gain the trust of both leaders and followers. This allows them to keep stretching the goals of teams or organizations to reach goals that would have initially seemed far fetched.

Conscientious leaders excel at juggling multiple projects and priorities. The best keep team members focused on shared goals. Given the rapid pace of change and high expectations, it makes sense that people who create value and trust through goal attainment are picked for promotions or remain in executive positions.

How To Develop Conscientiousness Behaviors

If your desk is a mess and you struggle at times with projects hitting your inbox in rapid succession, there are behaviors related to conscientiousness that you can adopt to increase your effectiveness.

Find and consistently use a system to stay organized. This can be a white board, checklists, sticky notes, electronic calendar, spreadsheets, color coded filing system, or whatever keeps your mind uncluttered and tracks progress

  1. Understand the goal
  2. Understand why the goal is important to the organization
  3. Explain numbers two and three with everyone who needs to know, repeat often
  4. Communicate expectations and progress regularly

By keeping you and your team in front of projects, you are much less likely to be derailed or run over by new projects or competing priorities.

Caveats

Without emotional intelligence, conscientiousness may not move the needle of personal or organizational performance. And, when work is artistic or social (such as sales), creativity and spontaneity are often called for rather than a by-the-book approach.

Still, for most of us, behaviors associated with conscientiousness will take you a long way toward reaching your goals.

Gregory Alford, MS. Psy., is founder of Accelerated Coaching & Consulting, LLC., and specializes in business, leadership and life coaching.

Jun 23

1 Comment

The Power of Acknowledgment

The Power of Acknowledgment

 By Gregory Alford, MS. Psy.

One of our deepest needs is to be acknowledged. Unfortunately, it’s a skill few people have. As a result, we don’t acknowledge others, or ourselves, very often. This is our loss. But it is a skill that can be learned!

When you acknowledge, you draw attention to something wonderful about a person. When done appropriately, it strengthens relationships and builds trust. It can be verbal, or written, and is often most appreciated when done publicly (especially at work).

Acknowledgment is…

  • Heartfelt
  • Occurs after action (ideally immediately)
  • Highlights good deeds
  • Encouragement

Recall a time when you received sincere acknowledgment and notice how good it still makes you feel. Now, recall when you completed a project there was no acknowledgment. Big difference – isn’t it? This is why behaviors we regularly acknowledge generally increase over time.

Self-Acknowledgement is also vital

Since so many people are unskilled acknowledging others, there are times when the kindest thing you can do is congratulate yourself.  This can help avoid disappointment, frustration or even anger that might follow times when your contributions or accomplishments go unrecognized.

Take a deep breath, let go of negative feelings and acknowledge yourself, out loud, several times if you want to! Then, acknowledge those who supported you. Top it off with a celebration of your choice.

So, your challenge today and everyday is to catch someone in the act of doing good and acknowledge them. You will discover it makes everyone’s day!

 

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