The Power of Encouragement

Article Written By: Shawn Doyle

All people need to feel good; to get and give energy, to have encouragement, appreciation and acknowledgement. So here is the big issue; many leaders don't take the energy and time to provide any form of encouragement at all. None! Encouragemant as a tool can have great power. I want you to think about being the Head Motivator. Now you are saying to yourself- "here goes the motivational seminar stuff." Nope. I am just saying that in a leadership role, your job is to get results. That is it. Results. So how do you get these great results?- through people.

Here are some specific ideas for providing encouragement that are fast and very effective.

Mix it up- Do you talk to people? When you are visiting or working daily in one of your offices, do you make the effort to say " Hi" to people as you pass them? If you don't do you at least give them positive non verbal signals, like a nod or a smile? I have attended meetings several times in my career and have seen a company V.I.P. walk into the room, pass by everyone and go across the entire room to speak to other V.I.P's. It was clear that the "small people" weren't worth talking to or addressing. Imagine how they felt and the huge negative impact they created.

Acknowledge their effort- I was once a Vice President at a Fortune 500 Company. If someone did something I felt was great, I would write them a short note on a note card (with my name at the top) thanking them for doing such a wonderful job. Often as I traveled I would go in someone's office and see the card I wrote taped up on their wall. This taught me an important lesson- that everyone wants to be acknowledged. The biggest complaint I hear from frontline workers is simple lack of acknowledgement. Also acknowledge people when they have worked lots of hours or have put in effort "over and above" the call of duty. Publically and privately acknowledge people when they do great work.

Balance criticism- It is really incredibly easy to criticize other people's work. Mistakes are part of the human condition. As a trainer I often ask people to critique their role-play in class starting with "what went well?" In variably they always start with the negative feedback. Maybe it is human nature. I want you as a leader to find a balance between positive and negative feedback. Too many managers just pound away at a team member and eventually morale goes way down. I am not suggesting by the way, not providing critical feedback I am saying you are already throwing the salt; mix in a little sugar.

Give surprise rewards- Give people rewards when they least expect it. Find small ways to reward them. This can be a gift card, a few extra hours off, taking someone to lunch, or even buying the team a box of donuts in the morning. Just make sure it is when they least expect it and it is positioned as a reward. Say "well I just want you to know that I know how hard you have been working on the project. Here is a small token of my appreciation. Thanks." Done properly it will be the discussion at dinner at home that night. "Hey guess what my boss did at work today? You will never believe it."

So start this week or even today. Why not?

About the Author

Shawn Doyle is a professional Motivational Speaker and author of 10 books.

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This Article Has Been Published on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 and Read 147 Times

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