“Correction does much, but encouragement does more.” Johann Goethe
This post is about celebrating what you want to see more of.
Throughout the week we often witness each other making an effort that goes above and beyond the usual standard of a “job description”. It may be a small gesture (over in a heart beat) or it may be one of those bigger,
more heroic gestures that makes that person’s day much tougher. Regardless of the size of the effort, we see someone take an extra step (or 500 extra steps)on behalf of the whole. Part of great leadership is noticing, and
acknowledging. We all have a thousand good reasons we don’t give that most rare reward, acknowledgement- “We have a meeting to go to, we don’t want a compliment to go to someone’s head, they don’t like being the center of attention, they’re busy right now, we just praised them last week, we don’t want them sitting on their laurels.” The bottom line is we miss an opportunity to celebrate great work.
Aim for giving more mini doses of positive feedback right when you notice things, in the moment. Monthly one-on-ones, annual reviews, scorecards or periodic evaluations are all valuable formats for giving organized feedback, but they’re not going to put the spring in our step that makes a work day fly by. What gives us that extra boost is knowing that the people we work with pay attention to what we do well. Acknowledging great work, however small, inspires ownership, quality, and endurance.
Years ago I gave one of my co-workers a card thanking her for helping me on a project. It was a small thing to do but I recall that that card remained on her desk for years. Even after she moved offices, that card was on her new desk for her to see each day. Although it was a small gesture, it meant the world to her that I had acknowledged her efforts on my behalf.
As Tom Peters wrote, “Celebrate what you want to see more of.”
Kathleen