Remember To Be Human, Appreciate

When you walk into that meeting today before you jump into item one on the agenda, pause and quietly consider this thought for each individual at the table. “That person right here in front of me is here to do a good job and deserves appreciation for doing so. They left their family today to be here. They have a relative battling some crisis, a child with a personal challenge, and a hope and dream that they can keep it all together. Something very concerning is going on in their life and still, they showed up here today with all the intentions of doing a good job.”

Most people do show up with the intention of doing a good job. They want to help the company, the team, and customers. They occasionally miss the mark and yes, some of them always miss the mark and blame people. We are not talking about the unaccountable souls on the team but the producers. Before you, as the leader will take the time to appreciate people, the thought of appreciation first has to occur to you. This can be especially challenging in an environment of intensity towards getting results. What place does appreciation even have on the agenda when there is no time for it anyway.

Leaders find it so baffling as to why people can understand every aspect of a clearly set goal, yet demonstrate moderate enthusiasm for achieving it. It is because understanding a goal is not the same as connecting to the value and meaning of the result. Appreciation for each human being at that table fosters that connection. Without it, average results can be both normal and expected. With appreciation comes attention to detail, staying late until the job is done, catching problems before they become real, working collaboratively with other resources, and offering innovation that makes the goal even better than how it was defined at the start. Appreciation is the babysitter connecting people to goals so you the leader don’t have to. Not only should leaders make time to appreciate people, it is the catalyst to achieving goals. So today, remember to be human by demonstrating appreciation.