Do You Get an A?
http://www.refresher.com/mindfulnetwork/articlelive/articles/116/1/Do-You-Get-an-A/Page1.html
JoAnna Brandi
JoAnna Brandi is the Publisher of the Customer Care Coach leadership program. She is the author of three books: Winning at Customer Retention, 101 Ways to Keep 'em Happy, Keep 'em Loyal, and Keep 'em Coming Back, Building Customer Loyalty - 21 Essential Elements in ACTION, and 54 Ways to stay Positive in a Changing, Challenging and Sometimes Negative World. JoAnna is an accomplished public speaker and a contributing author to numerous business publications. Her work in customer loyalty has been cited in Fortune Magazine, Sales and Marketing Magazine, The Executive Report on Customer Retention, US Banker, the Retail Advantage, The Kiplinger Letter, The Competitive Advantage and dozens of others. You can subscribe to her bi-weekly Customer Care Tip for free and find more of her work http://www.customercarecoach.com and her new blog By JoAnna Brandi
Published on 09/3/2008
A day doesn't go by without me thinking about the power of appreciation. That's because I have trained my mind to look for the good things in my life, focus my attention on them and take a moment or two to deeply appreciate the things that matter to me. And even with that, I don't do it often enough.
A for Appreciation and more!
A day doesn't go by without me thinking about the power of appreciation. That's because I have trained my mind to look for the good things in my life, focus my attention on them and take a moment or two to deeply appreciate the things that matter to me. And even with that, I don't do it often enough. My oh-so human brain wants to continue looking for what's wrong. I'm still learning how to jump in and quiet it down so I can make a more positive choice. It's getting easier. (Practice does that for you.)
I find that when I talk to a friends, colleagues and clients I make the effort to look for and comment on the qualities that I appreciate and value. I look for the best in them and hold up a mirror so they can see it too. Relationships give us the opportunity to do that. I very often hear, "Thank you so much for telling me that." "Thank you so much for noticing that about me."
People who call very often thank me and tell me the call was "uplifting." I think that must be because I have tuned my ears to listen for the things that most people don't hear - courage, perseverance, flexibility, response-ability, caring, attention to detail - things that when reflected back show the caller that they were listened to understood, not just heard. Do I always do that? Not yet, but I do it often enough that I get a fairly consistent and positive response as a result. My goal is relationships that thrive and people that are happy to talk to me.
Today as I was reading a blog entry on self esteem that I came across. It's got four great strategies for boosting your self esteem at work (the link is included below). Good stuff for all of us. But as I was reading it I couldn't help but think that a manager's job is to do that too. Work should be a place you can go to have your self-esteem and self-worth grow and flourish. If you are contributing your best, in any area of your job, someone should be noticing and appreciating.
So to add to the four strategies for building your own self-esteem here are four ways to get an "A" in helping employees build theirs.
Appreciate - Look for and listen for things that you appreciate and articulate them. Practice the art first in your own life (Appreciate the weather today, no matter what it is. Appreciate your lunch. Appreciate the fact that you have a job.) Move your energy from your head to your heart and think about a loved one and feel appreciation. Got the knack? Now think about the people you work with. What's good about each and every one of them? What can you appreciate?
Acknowledge - Once you have noticed something, acknowledge it out loud or in writing. Name the quality, action, attitude specifically. "Deb, I love your sense of humor, you always brighten my day."
Amplify - Say a little more about the quality and how it is useful or how it affects you or others. "Deb, your sense of humor is appreciated by the whole team. We can always count on you to lighten up the discussion, just when we need it. Your timing is perfect."
Anchor - Go even one step further suggesting how that person might use that quality again in the future. "Deb, your ability to make people laugh puts everyone in a positive and expansive mood. That's just what we are looking for in the upcoming monthly brainstorming meeting. Will you help me facilitate it?"
Appreciation isn't always about just saying "Thank You." It's a way to broaden and build someone's thinking about what is possible. It even helps to put that person into a better biochemical condition. Appreciation and kindness produce serotonin and other beneficial chemicals that keep the human body healthy and calm.
The saddest lament I ever here in the workplace is "How come they never see me doing something right, but if I do something wrong they are all over me?"
If you want people to flourish at work be sure you are using the 5:1 ratio. Speak up and notice five positive things. Train your eyes and ears to find opportunities to praise, appreciate, and acknowledge people doing the things that matter to the customer and the company.
I find that when I talk to a friends, colleagues and clients I make the effort to look for and comment on the qualities that I appreciate and value. I look for the best in them and hold up a mirror so they can see it too. Relationships give us the opportunity to do that. I very often hear, "Thank you so much for telling me that." "Thank you so much for noticing that about me."
People who call very often thank me and tell me the call was "uplifting." I think that must be because I have tuned my ears to listen for the things that most people don't hear - courage, perseverance, flexibility, response-ability, caring, attention to detail - things that when reflected back show the caller that they were listened to understood, not just heard. Do I always do that? Not yet, but I do it often enough that I get a fairly consistent and positive response as a result. My goal is relationships that thrive and people that are happy to talk to me.
Today as I was reading a blog entry on self esteem that I came across. It's got four great strategies for boosting your self esteem at work (the link is included below). Good stuff for all of us. But as I was reading it I couldn't help but think that a manager's job is to do that too. Work should be a place you can go to have your self-esteem and self-worth grow and flourish. If you are contributing your best, in any area of your job, someone should be noticing and appreciating.
So to add to the four strategies for building your own self-esteem here are four ways to get an "A" in helping employees build theirs.
Appreciate - Look for and listen for things that you appreciate and articulate them. Practice the art first in your own life (Appreciate the weather today, no matter what it is. Appreciate your lunch. Appreciate the fact that you have a job.) Move your energy from your head to your heart and think about a loved one and feel appreciation. Got the knack? Now think about the people you work with. What's good about each and every one of them? What can you appreciate?
Acknowledge - Once you have noticed something, acknowledge it out loud or in writing. Name the quality, action, attitude specifically. "Deb, I love your sense of humor, you always brighten my day."
Amplify - Say a little more about the quality and how it is useful or how it affects you or others. "Deb, your sense of humor is appreciated by the whole team. We can always count on you to lighten up the discussion, just when we need it. Your timing is perfect."
Anchor - Go even one step further suggesting how that person might use that quality again in the future. "Deb, your ability to make people laugh puts everyone in a positive and expansive mood. That's just what we are looking for in the upcoming monthly brainstorming meeting. Will you help me facilitate it?"
Appreciation isn't always about just saying "Thank You." It's a way to broaden and build someone's thinking about what is possible. It even helps to put that person into a better biochemical condition. Appreciation and kindness produce serotonin and other beneficial chemicals that keep the human body healthy and calm.
The saddest lament I ever here in the workplace is "How come they never see me doing something right, but if I do something wrong they are all over me?"
If you want people to flourish at work be sure you are using the 5:1 ratio. Speak up and notice five positive things. Train your eyes and ears to find opportunities to praise, appreciate, and acknowledge people doing the things that matter to the customer and the company.