“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude,” said English mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead.
Getting extraordinary things done in organizations is a difficult, yet rewarding task. To enhance an organization’s performance and team morale, there is only one path to take: just say thank you. Though that sounds accustomed, it is a vastly crucial part of a successful team in the workplace. Unfortunately, this two-word phrase is often downplayed by numerous leaders in various industries; and it’s important that exemplary leaders overthrow the managerial myth of not getting too close to their teammates.
The Pygmalion Effect
Believing in others more than they believe in themselves is a decisive factor of whether a team will succeed. This is because members receive self-confidence and dignity when others tell them how great they are. Saying something like “I know you can do it” brings out the best of everyone.
This is called the Pygmalion Effect from the Greek myth about Pygmalion, a sculptor who carved a statue, fell in love with it, and pleaded to the goddess Aphrodite to bring it to life. His prayers were granted. Exemplary leaders play pygmalion-like roles in developing and prompting their team members. Team members have acknowledged this type of behaviour, “She believed in me more than I believed in myself” or “He saw something in me even I didn’t see.”
Believing in others is a powerful force in creating high-performance teams. If you want your team to hold a winning attitude, you must do two things: Believe that your team members are already winners and communicate to them that they are winners. This means that the words, actions, expressions, postures, and gestures you make indicate that they are winners, not losers. Yelling, frowning, making fun of them, or putting them down in front of others will demotivate them to perform highly, which will ultimately suffer the entire project. Since each team member is a nerve of the project, it is imperative that you give them power and dignity to exceed expectations.
It works like a virtuous cycle: you believe in your team’s ability; your favorable expectations cause you to become more positive in your actions; and those encouraging behaviours produce better results; reinforcing your belief that people can do it.
Personalize Recognition
One of the most common complaints at the workplace is how predictive recognition is. Many managers use a one-size-fits all approach to recognize the work of their employees: send an email appreciating them and give them a bonus. The problem with this type of recognition is that it is not personal and is not expressed to the heart. The perfect type of gesture is to add a personal note, invite your team members to dinner, or stop by at their cubicle and thank them for the work they have done.
To do so, you must develop that connection and learn more about your team. Again, the managerial myth states that you do not want to do that; but put that aside, and play the leadership mask.
Final Thoughts
Just say “Thank you”.
Note: All knowledge and ideas are attained from the book "The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations 5th Edition". This blog summarizes the content from the book, but may unintentionally contain the same wording.
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