What's often the most cringe-worthy word during performance review season? Hands down, it's "feedback". Even good feedback is usually a precursor to the "feedback sandwich". There's one simple thing you can do to begin using performance review time to inspire your team...
Read MoreIf time is money, then wasting people’s time is wasting their money. Think of our time as energetic capital. As a leader, running effective meetings is an opportunity for you to value people through your actions. This can be a HUGE motivator!
Read MoreFailure is a hot leadership topic. We all know leaders should learn from it, but how? A few months back in a NY Times Corner Office column, I caught a delightful nugget of someone who squeezed some juicy learning from a flop.
In the column, a CEO spoke about how she had not been elected to president of a student club in college. Yet she didn’t let that stop her. She interviewed people on the panel as to why they didn’t vote for her. (Wow. Moxie!) They said she wasn’t human enough and didn’t share her passion. The next year, she shared her humility, plus her enthusiasm and vision. And was elected.
In order to grow from failure, we’ve got to squeeze out the learning out of it. Think of these as ingredients for learning-from-failure green juice:
1. Understand why we messed up. Was it our personal style, or a belief that blindsided us? Was it a process failure we didn’t pay enough attention to?
2. Change - Not easy, but we can set a strong intention to change. Then communicate that intention to others. Ask a trusted colleague or coach to hold us accountable.
3. Tenacity - Again and again, we have to keep trying. As a kid, my brother had a Bozo the Clown punching bag that would tip over when hit and bounce right back up again. Tenacity is what pulls us back up again, even when we don’t feel like it. Amy Schumer was rejected twice from Last Comic Standing, before making it on and placing fourth. Now she’s having a huge moment. She’s clearly taken her hits and gotten back up again, and I’m glad she did.
The leader above did all these things, and has probably repeated them multiple times over.
So what helps you learn from your favorite failures? Beets? Carrots? Humility?
In a future post I will share one of my own personal favorite failures.
Dig one out, we’ve all got them.
“I don’t want to say thank you to people for doing their job.”
This came from a brave manager who raised her hand in front of 120 of her peers during a session I was leading on appreciation.
Of course you don’t want to say, “Thank you for coming in on time today,” or “Thanks for writing up that report and emailing it to me!”
Showing appreciation isn’t just saying thank you. It’s not a generic “good job.”
Appreciation is a specific acknowledgement of something you observe about a team member or colleague. It can be about something they’ve done or even the values they demonstrate at work.
Research has actually proven that giving appreciation not only makes someone else’s day, but boosts your mood too. Who couldn’t use some of that?
“I noticed how you offered to cover for Ben last night. That showed your willingness to jump in and help out. Thanks.”
“You went above and beyond in that presentation. Your delivery was warm, concise and hit the mark. Well done.”
Appreciation can be given in person or electronically. The delivery method isn’t as important as the fact that you say something specific and genuine.
As hardworking leaders and managers, share an example of appreciation someone has given YOU that made a big impact? And - how do you like to give appreciation? We know you’ve got some tips. We’d love to hear.
