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Why Don’t We Recognize People More Often?
Last week I re-tweeted a blog post from Tom Peters, the best-selling business management guru. In Appreciation! “Tool” No.1 Tom shares his own growing appreciation for a quote by the American psychologist, William James who said, “The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
Tom goes on to talk about the power of appreciation and his belief that bosses-managers-leaders (not to mention parents and teachers and spouses) should express appreciation more often.
So why don’t people recognize others more often? That was a question Senior Consulting Partner Mark Paskowitz of The Ken Blanchard Companies asked 650 people who joined him for a webinar on Reward & Recognition on a Limited Budget earlier this week. Mark asked participants to choose from among the five reasons he hears most often in his work with clients. 81% of the audience responded. The rank ordering?
- Lack of time (25%)
- Not part of their personality style (20%)
- Lack of awareness (15%)
- Lack of skill/competence (15%)
- Afraid of leaving someone out (6%)
The general sense is that recognizing and expressing appreciation can seem like a complicated process sometimes. It doesn’t have to be. A quick word of appreciation, a sincere thank you, and just noticing on a daily basis is all that is required in most cases. For more ideas on how to get started, check out yesterday’s post on Don’t Overthink Recognition and Praise. For a more complete look at the entire subject of reward and recognition, check out the recording of Mark’s webinar.
Catching People Doing Things Right Twitter Contest Winner!
Congratulations to Lance Dumigan, today’s winner in our Twitter contest to “catch people doing things right.” Lance was recognized by Deborah Mourey. Lance will be receiving a personally autographed copy of his choice of one of Ken Blanchard’s latest books. Congratulations Lance—and good on Deborah for taking the time to recognize him!
Don’t Overthink Recognition and Praise
Managers can be shy or unsure of themselves when it comes to recognizing and praising others at work. That’s some of the feedback we’ve been getting as people have been participating in our Catch People Doing Things Right Twitter contest (see details below). Part of the reason is that leaders are concerned that they won’t do it right—or that it won’t be received well. These fears are mostly groundless. Everyone loves to be praised. For managers looking to catch their people doing things right, there are really only two things to keep in mind:
1. Be Immediate and Specific–For a praising to be effective, it must be immediate and specific. Tell people exactly what they did right as soon as possible. For example, “You submitted your report on time Friday, and it was well written. In fact, I used it in a meeting today, and that report made you and me and our whole department look good.”
Use examples such as “I see productivity in your department is up ten percent” or “Your report helped us win the contract with the Jones Company.” Comments that are too general, such as “I appreciate your efforts,” “Thank you very much,” “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” and “Keep up the good work,” are less likely to seem sincere and thus are unlikely to be effective.
2. State Your Feelings–After you praise people, tell them how you feel about what they did. Don’t intellectualize. State your gut feelings: “Let me tell you how I feel. I was so proud after hearing your financial report presentation at the Board of Directors meeting. I want you to know how good I feel about your being on our team. Thanks a lot.”
Recognizing people and expressing appreciation doesn’t have to be a laborious, drawn-out process. In fact, many times your best praisings are the informal, spur-of-the-moment opportunities that happen throughout the course of the day.
Get started today. Catch someone doing things right. It’s a powerful way to show someone you care and it can be your best management minute of the day.
Twitter Contest–Today’s Winner!
Congratulations to Christie at Mississippi State’s Women’s basketball program. She was recognized by Coach Joey Burton and is the winner of today’s prize of a personally autographed copy of one of Ken Blanchard’s latest books.
If you’d like to participate and recognize someone you know for a job well done, just follow the instructions below. We’ll be choosing one more winner tomorrow.
Instructions for “Catch Someone Doing Things Right” Twitter Contest
1. Go to http://www.twitter.com and post the name of the person you would like to catch doing things right along with a very short (140-characters or less) description of why. Include the following code in your message @leaderchat
For example: @leaderchat Nick Peterson—for your work in developing our new press release program and keeping everyone up-to-date on a regular basis. Thank you!
2. Push the UPDATE button
It’s as simple as that. Every day between now and Friday we’ll randomly choose one lucky person among those entered to receive a personally autographed copy of one of Ken Blanchard’s latest books. Each day’s winner will be posted at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time right here at http://www.leaderchat.org
Catching People Doing Things Right Twitter Contest
Yesterday we kicked off a special year-end Twitter contest to help recognize people doing things right. Between now and Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time, we will be giving away copies of a personally autographed Ken Blanchard book to one lucky person each day from among the people nominated during the previous day.
If you’d like to catch someone doing things right—and possibly win them a personally autographed copy of a Ken Blanchard book—just send us your nominee’s name along with a short (140-characters or less) description of why you’re nominating them. We’ll automatically enter them into our daily drawing. Be sure to add @leaderchat in your tweet so we can track your nomination.
Here are some examples from yesterday:
@leaderchat recognize Cara Garlock for all she does as our admin to keep us grooving
@leaderchat Janet Powers @divatoolbox for creating the powerful radio network and women’s resource website.
@leaderchat David Means –Thank you for all your work at Horizon House. It’s really paying off!
Recognition is important. Who do you know that deserves to be recognized for a job well done? We’d like to help you let the world know here at LeaderChat. Winners will be announced tomorrow and Friday at 6:00 a.m. and contacted directly so they can choose the book they would like to receive.
Today’s Winner!
Congratulations to Keith Hayward of Dillanos Coffee Roasters for being our first winner of a personally autographed book by Ken Blanchard. Keith was nominated by Dillanos CEO David Morris for “going the extra mile for a last minute trip to Alaska to take care of a customer.”
Reward and Recognition: Join Mark Paskowitz for an Online Chat
Join The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Mark Paskowitz for a live, online chat today at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time. Paskowitz will be answering questions immediately after his webinar on Reward and Recognition on a Limited Budget. The webinar is free and is a part of The Ken Blanchard Companies monthly webinar series co-sponsored with Cisco WebEx.
To participate in the online discussion, stop by http://www.leaderchat.org beginning at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time.
Instructions for Participating in the Online Chat
If you have a question that you would like to ask Mark Paskowitz, just click on the COMMENTS link above. Then post your question and push SUBMIT COMMENT. Mark will answer as many questions as possible during the 30-minute online Q&A. (Be sure to press F5 to refresh your screen occasionally to see the latest responses.)
If you can’t stay for the entire 30-minute chat, but would like to see all of the questions and responses, you can always stop by later. You can also click on the RSS FEED button in the right-hand column to receive updates automatically through email.
Instructions for “Catch Someone Doing Things Right” Twitter Contest
At the conclusion of the webinar Mark Paskowitz will also be announcing a special Twitter contest that The Ken Blanchard Companies is holding this week. Starting on Tuesday and lasting for 72-hours, The Ken Blanchard Companies will give you a chance to “catch someone doing things right” by entering that person in a drawing for a copy of one of Ken Blanchard’s latest books. The book will contain a personalized inscription congratulating the winner on being caught doing things right. The contest ends on Friday at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time and you can enter as many people as you would like. Here’s how to participate:
1. Go to www.twitter.com and post the name of the person you would like to catch doing things right along with a very short description of why. Include the following code in your message @leaderchat
For example: @leaderchat Nick Peterson—for doing an outstanding job all year and helping to make this our best year ever!
2. Push the UPDATE button
It’s as simple as that. Every day between now and Friday we’ll randomly choose one lucky person among those entered to receive one of the personalized books. Each day’s winner will be posted at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time at www.leaderchat.org
Don’t miss this chance to say “thank you” to someone who really deserves it. Participating is a fun, low-cost, and very thoughtful way to let someone know that you appreciate them!
PS: If you don’t have a Twitter account yet, you can sign up at Twitter when you get there. Just follow the instructions and you’ll be online in minutes.
The Everyday Leader
Congratulations to Patti Breckenridge of Tampa, Florida and Lee Wise of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania who were announced yesterday as the winners in our Twitter contest to help identify today’s top leaders. Both Patti and Lee will be receiving a gift pack of 7 of Ken Blanchard’s best books, including best-sellers together with some of Ken’s newest releases.
It’s been a great week devoted to identifying all of the wonderful leaders around us today and to explore some of the traits that make them special. We’ve looked at the people who push the edges, inspire us, and lead us to places we may not have been able to get to on our own.
We also looked at a special group of people who we called the unsung hero, or the everyday leader. These are the people who may not be household names, but who have had a powerful positive influence on our lives. Here are a couple of more unsung hero/leader nominations from Ken Blanchard’s Twitter page that I wanted to share:
- My favorite leader as a coach: my mother-she understands me, keeps me grounded, pushes, backs-up.
- Innovation, courage, and caring make 8th grade science teacher Sandy Willmore my choice for Top Leader.
- My unsung hero is my cousin Chris an army helicopter pilot who will be leaving for Afghanistan.
- Susan Baldwin. For maintaining relationships with previous employees to use for training and back-up.
- This may sound like a cliché, but my boss is one of the best leaders I have ever met. He never has to ask for respect.
If you haven’t had a chance to see everyone who was nominated, go over to www.Twitter.com and type @kenblanchard in the search box. You’ll see everyone who was recognized. Thanks again to everyone who participated over this past week.
The Leader as Coach
Today is the last day of Ken Blanchard’s Top Leader survey/contest on Twitter. Over 2,000 people have viewed tweets, or posted nominations at www.twitter.com/kenblanchard.
On this final day, the role of the leader as coach seems to be the aspect of leadership to highlight. In addition to inspirational, unsung, and visionary leaders, the leader as coach has been the fourth most popular nomination.
Nominees have ranged from sports coaches, like Tony Dungy, John Calipari, and Pete Carroll, to business coaches, like Marshall Goldsmith, Stephen Covey, and John Maxwell, and finally to life coaches like Deepak Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, and Tony Robbins.
What’s the one thing they all have in common? They see something special in others, and they use a combination of encouragement and accountability to bring it to full development. By setting high standards, providing direction and support as needed, and always believing in their people, these types of coaches help their clients and team members get to places they might not have been able to get to on their own.
Who are the people that have believed in you? Who has held you to a higher standard of performance—and always believed in your ability to achieve it? Let us know by posting your top coaching leader at www.twitter.com/kenblanchard Remember to add @kenblanchard in the body of your tweet so you’ll be entered into tomorrow’s drawing for one of two gift baskets of Ken Blanchard books.
Survey/Contest Details
LeaderChat is partnering with Ken Blanchard on Twitter to conduct a fun and interesting survey/contest. Through October 13th, we’d like you to Tweet the name of the person you think is today’s top leader. In order for us to know who your selection is specifically for this contest, just include “@kenblanchard” in your Tweet.
For example, your Tweet could read: “Today’s top leader @kenblanchard: John Smith”
By doing that, you will be entered into our Twitter contest. After October 13th, we will randomly select two submissions for this contest on Twitter, and we’ll send each of these winners a gift pack of 7 of Ken’s best books, including best-sellers together with some of his newest releases. If you win, Ken will send you a direct Tweet to get your contact info, and we’ll also post the winners here.
The Inspirational Leader: Who Inspires You?
There have been a large number of nominations posted over the weekend for Ken Blanchard’s Top Leader Survey/Contest on Twitter. (Thanks to all of you who have nominated someone, or re-Tweeted the original post.) In looking over the latest group of nominees, one thought that came to mind was the inspirational side of leadership. Many people have nominated someone who they felt inspired them to higher levels of performance, stood up for what was right, or displayed honesty, integrity, and courage during difficult times.
As you look over the latest group of people who have been nominated, consider who is the most inspirational leader you have ever met. What was it about them that caused you to be inspired? Was it something they said? Something they did? Or was it something harder to describe?
Once you’ve identified that inspirational leader, let us know about it. Post a tweet with @kenblanchard in the body of the message. That will get your message posted at Ken Blanchard’s Twitter page and also enter you into our raffle on Tuesday for one of two gift baskets of Ken Blanchard books.
This weekend’s new nominees:
- USC football coach Pete Carroll
- Social visionary, Eboo Patel
- Steve Irwin, famed Australian “Crocodile Hunter”
- Croatian tennis player, Marin Cilic who reached the quarterfinals of this year’s US Open
- Pastor, and best-selling author, Rick Warren
- Jack Stack CEO of SRC Holdings Corporation
- Jack Canfield, best-selling author of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Who’s inspired you? Let us know, and check back here at LeaderChat to see who is inspiring others.
Survey/Contest Details
LeaderChat is partnering with Ken Blanchard on Twitter to conduct a fun and interesting survey/contest. Through October 13th, we’d like you to Tweet the name of the person you think is today’s top leader. In order for us to know who your selection is specifically for this contest, just include “@kenblanchard” in your Tweet.
For example, your Tweet could read: “Today’s top leader @kenblanchard: John Smith”
By doing that, you will be entered into our Twitter contest. After October 13th, we will randomly select two submissions for this contest on Twitter, and we’ll send each of these winners a gift pack of 7 of Ken’s best books, including best-sellers together with some of his newest releases. If you win, Ken will send you a direct Tweet to get your contact info, and we’ll also post the winners here.
Who’s Your Unsung Hero?
Yesterday’s posting on “Do You Need to Be Famous to Lead?” generated a lot of discussion on Ken Blanchard’s Facebook page. The general sentiment was that you didn’t.
People felt that there were plenty of leaders in all walks of life who weren’t necessarily famous, but were still having a big impact on the people around them. One example was a parent’s nomination of a teammate on a son’s high school baseball team. As the parent noted, “He (the teammate) is the leader without anyone telling him he is the leader. He is a model player who gives the credit to his teammates. No vote was needed.”
Another nomination was for a retired U.S. Navy captain. This nominee’s leadership traits? “He knew each person’s name in our command of over 400+ people. Never looked at your name tag–looked you directly in the eye so you knew he knew your name.”
The takeaway from today’s postings? As one Facebook fan identified, “To be a great leader you must see something…and I’d like to add, that something can be a special trait in another, an idea for doings things a new way, or a vision for a better future.
Who’s your nominee as one of today’s top leaders? Let us know by posting your nominee. Be sure to check back again on Monday to see the results from this weekend.
Do You Need to Be Famous to Lead?
What’s the relationship between notoriety and leadership?
That’s the question that might surface for you as you look at the following list of people who have recently been nominated as one of today’s top leaders in our Top Leader Survey. As you scan the list below, you’ll probably see some names you immediately recognize. Others will seem vaguely familiar, while others will be completely unknown to you.
Tony Dungy—John Calipari—Edward Phillip—Chris Alexander—Ken Wilber—Ron Paul—Fred Cuellar—Serena Williams—Bill George—Jessica Watson—Robert Iger—Orrin Woodward—Stephen Harper—Al Gore—Amma—James Parks Morton—Pete Seeger—Gary Cook— Angelina Jolie—Donald Neal Walsh
The one thing that all of these people have in common is that they are a great leader in someone’s eyes. Who are the leaders in your eyes that no one else might know about? Let us know by “tweeting” about them. When you do, you’ll automatically be entered into our survey/raffle for one of two gift baskets of Ken Blanchard’s classic best-sellers and new releases. To participate using your existing Twitter account, just follow this format
My choice for today’s top leader? @kenblanchard: John Smith
That will allow us to see your nominee and also enter you into the drawing which will take place on Tuesday.
If you don’t have a Twitter account yet, just follow the instructions at www.twitter.com It’s easy, fast, fun, and free.
Today’s Top Leaders: Pushing the Edges
Today’s nominees in our top leaders survey/contest are beginning to push the edges of what many of us might consider a traditional leader. In addition to leaders from business and government, today’s nominees included 24-year-old Daily Beast columnist Meghan McCain and 30-year-old Doc Hendley, the founder and president of Wine to Water.
McCain is part of a young generation of writers and columnists covering everything from current events to the latest in entertainment and fashion. She first began to receive media attention when she documented life on the campaign trail with her father Senator John McCain. You can read McCain’s latest posts at The Daily Beast.
Hendley is a great example of a young man who, beginning at the age of 25, travelled to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cambodia, working with local communities to build clean water wells and sanitation systems. Upon coming home and returning to school, Hendley continued working for clean water in developing nations through fund-raising at bars where he worked. By hosting wine tastings and providing information about the clean water crisis in other less-developed parts of the world, Hendley was able to later launch Wine to Water, Hendley’s organization that provides clean water to people in developing countries. You can learn more about Hendley and Wine to Water at www.winetowater.org
Who are other examples of non-traditional leaders that you would like to highlight?
Let us know by posting your nominee on Twitter. When you do, you’ll also be entered into our drawing for a specially chosen selection of Ken Blanchard best-sellers and new releases.
To participate, go to Twitter.com and “tweet” the name of the person you think is today’s top leader. In order for us to know who your selection is specifically for this contest, just include “@kenblanchard” in your Tweet.
For example, your Tweet could read: “Today’s top leader @kenblanchard: John Smith
We’ll keep posting the latest nominees and keeping the survey/ book raffle open until October 13 when two random winners will be chosen from among all of the people who have participated.
Join us in this opportunity to recognize leaders who are making a difference . Also, be sure to check back every day for updates, and to see who people are talking about!
