Posts Tagged ‘Leadership tips’
30 Ways to Praise and Thank Employees (part 3)
In part 3 we’ll look at a few tips for revving up our praise or thanks to employees. Next, we’ll look at ten more ways to say Good Job.
3 Tips on Revving Up Praise:
- Be sincere. When you see something praiseworthy – praise it. On the other hand, if you don’t, then avoid feeling like you need to come up with something that won’t be in earnest.
- Don’t wait until something’s perfect before you acknowledge it with appreciation or praise.
- Be timely. If you wait to say it later…you may forget. When you see it, say it.
10 Ways to Say “Good Job”…
- You’re catching on fast, I like the effort you’re putting in.
- Super job on that report, it was exactly what I was looking for.
- Thank you! Your input was really helpful for me to hear… I like other viewpoints to consider.
- Actually, it doesn’t bother me when you challenge the status quo around here, because you do it without being confrontational. I know your purpose is to help us grow, get better.
30 Ways to Praise and Thank Employees (part 2)
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Take time to look for good behavior as well as good attitude, then recognize your employee for it.
Good behavior or good attitude doesn’t have to be recognized with $$money. A verbal or written praise/thanks is especially meaningful, and it lasts.
Mark Twain said, “I can live for three months on a good compliment.” Here are 10 ways to say “good job”…
- Thanks for getting back so quickly, you saved me some time.
- I really appreciate the questions you ask, it shows you take genuine interest.
- Your work on that project was nothing short of Fantastic!
30 Ways to Praise and Thank Employees (part 1)
A recent question from a journalist interviewing me on ‘praising employees’ brought an interesting point to mind: what if you know you ought to thank or praise your employee, but you’re not exactly sure how to say it?
In a four-part series my posts will cover: Part (1) 10 Activities That Merit Thanks or Praise? Parts (2) through (4) will have 30 Phrases of Praise or Thanks, plus some best practices.
What Activities Merit Thanks or Praise? Here are ten possibilities (of course there are a lot more instances which are deserving)…
- Going beyond what you asked
- Hitting a deadline or exceeding a goal
- A consistently positive attitude
Make Do With What You’ve Got!
What if you were told “No more budget” or “If you lose an employee you can’t hire a replacement” …or “You can’t buy any new equipment, you must make what you have work!”
As we wrap up 2009 no one knows what 2010 holds in store. But what we can probably be quite certain of a few things:
- Change will be continuous in the future not episodic as in past years.
- Pressure on bottom-line profitability across most industries will likely increase as margins squeeze thin.
Boss Mistrust
With everything going on in society, trust is more important than ever. It’s crucial in business, with customers, with fellow workers, with vendors or suppliers—everything really.
When it comes to building trust with associates, mistrust seems to be more prevalent. Many employees believe their boss spins the truth, fosters gossip and fails to deliver on promises.
A study of 700 workers by Florida State University found among other things:
7 Delegation Questions
Avoiding the trap of trying to get more done without help from others will increase your personal productivity.
However, if most of us were frank we’d admit to following the self-prescribed mantra that doing it ourselves is the best way to get something done right!
Keep in mind delegation works the very best when you need some free time for other tasks and delegation could help.
A wise manager will carefully consider aspects related to the employee being considered for important work assignments. Try asking yourself these questions before you delegate:
- Can this person work independently without concentrated oversight?
- Do they have the experience or skill-set to do the work at a successful level?
- Is he/she able to make an immediate contribution?
- Will they have the enthusiasm and drive needed to get the work done?
- Are they dependable, will they come through on deadlines?
- Will I need to free the employee of other work/tasks in order to achieve the delegated work?
- Will this person require a lot of my personal oversight and time? In particular, can I make the necessary time investment right now with this individual to coach or train them in how to do the work?
Admittedly, delegating to an employee is frustrating especially if he/she doesn’t follow instructions, or if in the past they dropped the ball on assigned work altogether. But keep on trying—because the benefits of delegation are significant.
When Staff Meetings Become Gripe Sessions
Why do staff meetings morph into gripe sessions? Because leaders allow it!
If your meetings are characterized by griping and complaining, with little being accomplished, then it’s only because you’ve permitted employees to conduct themselves that way.
Gripe sessions waste valuable time. Gripe sessions are largely counterproductive—and rarely solve or advance anything. Gripe sessions lower morale to the cellar.
I’ve run into a number of managers who quit holding staff meetings because their meetings had become primarily gripe sessions. I’ve also discovered that managers may feel unequipped in handling griping and complaining from employees.
Here are five tips for preventing meetings from turning into gripe sessions:
Master Leadership Tips
Author George Barna’s book, Master Leaders, presents a refreshing, thought-provoking view on what can be a stilted book topic–leadership.
No doubt, this is one of the most unique leadership books I’ve ever come across. Barna presents advice on some of the toughest topics for leaders, taken from his conversations with 30 world-class leaders while sitting in the ‘green room’ at a conference where he served as master of ceremonies.
I felt like I was there personally, sitting quietly in the corner of the ‘green room’ eaves dropping on “the greats” as they spoke passionately about the essentials of leading people. (Included are “greats” like Ken Blanchard, Tony Dungy, Newt Gingrich, Seth Godin, Lou Holtz, John Kotter, Patrick Lencioni, and many others).
Here are some of my favorite take-aways from Master Leaders:
Stop Negativity Before It Spreads
Chronic negativity generally involves just one or two individuals but affects everyone on the team. Negativity is caustic. Negativity metastasizes. Negativity creates a dark cloud.
People who regularly complain, gripe, nay say and criticize, are chronic negativists. And chronic negativists are still liabilities even if they exceed performance requirements.
You can’t change the attitude of a chronic negativist they must do that for themselves. But, there are a few ways to manage them effectively:
Energize Your Staff Meetings
Pointless or boring staff meetings are a colossal waste of everyone’s time. Fortunately however, that doesn’t have to be the case. To make staff meetings relevant and highly productive you can try a few road-tested tips:
- Begin by asking for good news. What has happened in your area that’s positive? This sets a proper tone for your meeting and encouraging news helps keep attitudes positive.
