All too often, support staff feel undervalued or unappreciated and don’t get the recognition they deserve in the workplace. Kathy asks a great question for today’s Q&A Series video:
When people feel appreciated, they work harder!
People do what they’re recognized for. When you celebrate, recognize and talk about the work your team members are doing, they feel like they’re being treated with dignity. That’s how they know you care and they’ll work harder.
Question: How do you recognize a job well done?Â
I am pretty sure I will be the first to comment today because, hopefully, the rest of the tribe is sleeping. Understanding how personality styles correlate with the type of role that people have in an organization has been eye-opening for me. topic reminded me that I have to be more intentional in recognizing people’s effort, recognizing my team’s strengths and providing the tools they need to perform their job with excellence.
It absolutely changes your working world when you do Lil! Heck, it changes your personal world when you do it there as well. 🙂
Great insight Chris! I have found this can often be done by a surprise, hand written note left for the individuals you were describing. This has been done to me several times, and I have tried to pay it forward to others. As someone who has always been in the “Kill something and drag it home” crowd, I am always looking for ways to say “Thank You” to the team that delivers or fulfills what I sold. I also love the way you talked against a pervasive problem of “silos” within an organization. The only way we can value the contributions of others is by knowing what they are. It is the responsibility of leadership to make sure this is effectively communicated.
Amen Dave!! When people leaving the cave realize the people staying are a blessing and not a necessary evil, it changes how they work when they leave the cave. There’s a greater confidence on both ends at that point. Great stuff!!
“necessary evil”
You hit the nail on the head with those words, Chris! I know a number of administrative/support staff feel completely undervalued. They aren’t the ones bringing in the dough so they aren’t viewed as important as the others. But many times they’re the reason a business is able to run smoothly, legally, even at all. It’s not just about making sure support staff feels valued, but that we really do believe they’re valued. Take advantage of Administrative Professionals Day, and random moments to let them know they’re loved. I like the handwritten note idea 🙂
Good call, Dave. Handwritten notes are VERY powerful ways to say thanks. Often I’ll mail them to people’s homes. Everyone loves to get mail that’s not junk or a bill!
Thanks, Chris. Good reminder that the support staff are often S and C types which often keeps them in the background, but they are still CRITICAL to success. I try to find ways to create team rewards to remind everyone that we’re all here for the same purpose and ultimately, nobody wins unless everybody wins.
For me it comes natural. One of my strongest gifts that the bible talks about is the gift of exhortation, which in the Greek means to encourage, or cause to remember, or to remind of duty, and can sometimes mean to warn. Everyone around me knows that I am a person who highly recognizes, encourages, and approve of the actions of others. Or even to affirm and confirm to a certain extinct. It’s not that I give these little false and unrealistic pep talks. They a specific, unique and a lot of the times based upon the potential or end result of where I see that person to be.
Love this post/video Chris. Appreciation is so important, but what I really found interesting was what you said about how we recognize people.
We need to appreciate others how THEY want to be appreciated, and as leaders we need to be investing time in understanding just how each person on our team likes to be recognized. It’s not a one size fits all deal.
These videos, like your posts, are so helpful for me. Thank you Chris!