Appreciation at work
I was chatting to a California law partner about his employees' changing expectations of work-life balance. We turned to discussing appreciation at work. In this new world where you can quit a job Friday, receive a laptop Saturday and start work on Monday - all while staying at home, John Goulding, CEO and founder of employee communication platform Workvivo, argues all leaders must keep in mind that once their salary is adequate, all people want to "feel part of something bigger, a company with a great culture of emotional connection, recognition and communication." If a leader isn’t deliberately creating that culture, they’re bound to fail.”
One boss had grand plans for an employee he cared for, wanted to invest in, and he hoped would be his successor. It devastated him when the employee moved on. On reflection, he realized he had not told the worker what he valued about him, how special he was, or the plans that he had. He needed to change his communication patterns to notice what is good and distinctive about his employees and, occasionally, for key folks, how special they were to him. He needed to grow in emotional connection and communication.
Where can you begin?
- Think about who you appreciate at work. What is good and distinctive about them? Tell them!
- Is there someone that you particularly appreciate and it would be appropriate to tell them how special they are to you as? For example, you could thank a carer who has been especially kind to your elderly mum or dad with alzheimers. You could be grateful that a friend recommended your services.
- Rate yourself on emotional connection, recognition and communication and make one minor change to grow in one of these areas.
You could also consider,
- Who am I most engaged with? And least engaged with?
- Who am I most connected to? And least?
- Who do I recognize the most? And not?
- Who do I communicate with? And not?
You can't do this with everyone, so a key question is,
- How do those you engage with, connect to, recognize and communicate with pass these things on?
What are the implications of what you see?
