Appreciate sincerely and often

All hard work feels good when it is appreciated. Appreciation does not have to be expensive and elaborate. This is probably why most people do not do it as frequently as they should. It can be as simple as a verbal thank you. Effective appreciation needs to be sincere. True expressions of appreciation must be crafted appropriately for the receiver. The receiver must be made aware that their efforts are valued. This cannot be mechanical, because repetitive behavior gets ignored very easily. Each expression must be crafted with attention. As much as possible, the details of the effort must be understood, and the impact of the delivered result must be understood. The message must convey how each aspect of the effort relates to the big picture. This will also invoke greater ownership among the team as well. Sincere appreciation in difficult situations involves being a part of the team, feeling their pain and helping to ease that. Appreciation is the best form of positive reinforcement. More frequent the appreciation, more loyalty we will be able to build up. And this is key to getting things done... as a manager.

The key aspect of every performance review is to summarize the continuous assessment of the team member. This is a prime time to emphasize the positives first. Emphasizing the strengths and contributions at this time fills the team member's heart with good feelings about what they are doing. Then, their mind becomes very receptive to discussions relating to improvement.

This is a valuable lesson that I learned from my wife, and I'm reminded everyday by my 18 month old son's appropriately placed "Goo Job!" praises for actions around him.