Showing Teammates the Love, Oops, Sorry HR, I Mean the Appreciation
We all know that no one individual is totally responsible for the success of an organization or for any project. We also know tht we can’t do everything. It’s not just the time factor, but that we simply do not possess every talent or skill needed for projects to run today’s increasingly complex organizations. Rather a team of diverse people with diverse talents, skills, and attributes are required. Moreover, we are constantly reminded of how much we should appreciate our teammates and their particular brand of talents. Why are strengths so important?
Why Strengths Are Important
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you are no doubt aware of the work Gallup conducts in the importance of strengths. An article by Tim Clark succinctly explains the study’s findings:
“Gallup also found that when employees become aware of their strengths, they become 7.8 percent more productive. Teams that focus on strengths every day have 12.5 percent greater productivity, while individuals who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged on the job and less likely to leave their company.” Therefore, we can see that the focus on strengths can help both individuals and organizations reach their goals. That is indeed important. So now we know why strengths are important. How do we show our teammates the love, oops, sorry HR can’t do that…I mean how do we show each other how much we appreciate one another’s strengths?
Showing Appreciation
Delegation Sometimes we must let go and let someone else do the part of a project we are not good at or simply don’t have the talent for providing a good performance.
Show and Tell More often than not, our teammates may not even be aware of their own strengths. Providing assessments for your team will help each member to understand and how to use his/her strengths. Barring that, it’s OK to let a team member know that you see talents they may not see. You might even point out times demonstrating when and how your teammate uses this talent.
Thank You Send your teammates a brief note or email thank them for them for the contributions they made to a recent project and take a moment to point out the talent used. This helps not only remind them of their strengths, but also shows the sincerity of the thank you gesture. This appreciation can, and should, also be verbalized in team meetings for all to share.
Drive it Home Driving appreciation throughout the organization, can help develop leaders at every level, assist in succession planning, and build a culture of leadership strengths.
Showing the love, I mean, appreciation, is not rocket science, but it can send productivity skyrocketing.
Thank you for reading this article. If you would like more information on identifying your team’s strengths, call 404-320-7834 for a no obligation 30-minute phone call, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit www.performstrat.com
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