Each one of us spend a good portion of our lives at work. And oftentimes the difference between a great work environment and a bad one is not the mission or the product, but the people. One of the ways you can bring out the best in people is to appreciate them. Here are ten ways that you can bring out the winners at work by showing appreciation.
1. Accept their uniqueness. Understand that everyone you work with has a story, has a background. They are gifted in different ways. Their personalities are neither good nor bad. They are just what they are. Understand their uniqueness. Accept them and realize that they all have strengths.
2. Praise them for their strengths. Praising people is like pouring gasoline on a fire. It makes them want to do better. You don’t build people up by tearing them down.
3. Pray for their weaknesses. By that I mean, if you want them to change, ask God to do the changing. God is God even at work and He can bring about the change needed in a person.
4. Respect them by listening. Too often at work we get into the mode of telling or commanding, or presenting our ideas after the fact. Listen to people before you make decisions. You’ll be amazed at what they have to say.
5. Expect the best. Let people know that you have high expectations and that they wouldn’t be there if they weren’t the kind of people that could meet them.
6. Champion their cause. Each person has a set of goals, responsibilities, tasks and achievements to accomplish. Be their biggest champion in their particular cause. They are part of the mission.
7. Insist on integrity. Never, never, never for convenience sake allow anyone around you to cut corners. Don’t allow lying, dishonesty, or deception. Be a “yes” person. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.
8. Ask for their advice. Long before you set company goals, mission and purpose statements, ask people to give input. You’ll be amazed at what perspective they may have from the other side of the table.
9. Talk face-to-face. Email is a great thing, but it’s a limited thing. You can cause more trouble in one email than you can solve in seven meetings. So if you have something hard to say, do it face-to-face. If you have something good to say, say it by email. But never let one replace the other.
10. Encourage people always. Encourage them by asking them often about their home-life. Encourage them when they are having difficulty. Encourage them when their sales figures aren’t where they ought to be. Encourage them when they are tired and need rest. Encouragement is always in season.
These are ten ways that you can bring out the winners at work, because unless you’re all winning at work, no one is going to win.