October 2008

This month is all about celebration and why we need to find more opportunities to acknowledge and recognize our colleagues.

I am always delighted to hear your thoughts and comments; ksutherland@sutherlandconsulting.com

Happy Halloween as we head into the shorter days and longer nights of fall.

Cheers,

Karole

In Praise of Celebration

On a recent trip to Southern California I had the chance to visit with my cousin, a first-grade teacher. I have always admired her obvious skill, engaging creativity, and abundant enthusiasm for her work so it was a real thrill for me to see her excellence acknowledged.

Every year, San Diego County chooses 10 Teachers of the Year from among the 26,000 public school teachers in the county. This is not a popularity contest but rather a true recognition of the best teachers in San Diego. Each of the 43 finalists has to complete 7 essays that examine issues such as their beliefs about teaching, where the profession is heading, advice they would give new teachers as well as asking about their successes and failures. Pretty introspective and reflective stuff and definitely not something completed in a few minutes.

It all culminates in a black-tie gala broadcast live on TV with celebrity hosts, video clips of the finalists in their classrooms, interviews with their colleagues and students as well as heart-warming acceptance speeches. Although I watched the gala on DVD, I felt the excitement, pride and energy that was present in the auditorium as the teaching community came together to recognize and celebrate teaching excellence. And, as I have known all along, Wendy truly is a great teacher – she was selected as one of the 10 Best Teachers of the Year.

The impact on her has been significant. Not only was it personally rewarding to get the public acknowledgment of her dedication and commitment to an often difficult and frequently thankless job, she also was able to experience a personal renewal and re-invigoration for her work. She has been teaching for a quarter century and much has changed during that time. What she learned during this process is that more than ever she loves being in the classroom and she knows she still has much to contribute, not only to her students but also as a mentor for new teachers just starting their careers.

What can we learn about celebrating accomplishments from the teachers of San Diego? While not all recognition needs to be in the form of a black-tie gala, how might our teams and organizations benefit from celebrating and acknowledging the contributions of the best among us? Which of your colleagues really cares about their work and always does their best no matter the circumstances? What might be the impact if you publicly acknowledged your colleague who makes a real difference to the success of the team? What has been the most memorable recognition at work of your skills and contributions– what made it so memorable? Why don’t we spend more time telling our colleagues what they do well and why we appreciate them?

As humans we are wired to need attention; if we aren’t getting it we tend to either consciously or subconsciously alter our behaviour until we get the attention we crave. Investing time and energy encouraging the best in others is one of the simplest, most economical and effective ways to enhance the performance of others.

What could be different for your team if everyone regularly gave acknowledgement and recognition when it was deserved? What difference might this have on innovation, commitment and morale? Who on your team deserves to be recognized for their excellence?

1. Effective recognition needs to be personal and specific. Giving encouragement and feedback is more than saying “Good job.” It needs to be specific to what they did and why it was a contribution to the team. “You led a great meeting. It was a difficult agenda with lots of opportunity for things to get off track. I really admired how you helped everyone focus on the important issues so they didn’t get lost in things that aren’t critical to the team’s goals this month.” Not only does this recognize what the person did, it helps reinforce the behaviours that contribute to the success of the team.
   
   
2. Make celebration fun. Celebrating an achievement doesn’t have to be a gala affair but it should be fun. I can remember ‘kidnapping’ my team when we reached an important target; instead of the scheduled team meeting I loaded them into my car and took everyone for a gelato. The fun part was that no one knew where we were going or what I was up to until we arrived at our destination. It was a memorable and unexpected way to say thanks for the hard work they had put in to make sure we met our project timeline.
   
   
3. Use recognition to improve relationships. No doubt there is someone you work with that seems to trigger all your buttons. Just thinking about them makes you groan inwardly. Try turning the relationship around by finding things to acknowledge about this person. What are their interests beyond the office? What can they be counted on to do particularly well? What expertise do they contribute that helps the team? My guess is that if you make an effort to change your perspective and learn more about them you will find their positive attributes. Now, here’s your challenge. Find an opportunity to publicly acknowledge them. I promise it will be a gift for both of you.

About the Sutherland Consulting Group
The Sutherland Consulting Group helps leaders create teams that get results by showing them how to leverage their personal strengths and the expertise of their team to improve collaboration, decision making and communication. We specialize in developing great teams and outstanding leaders.

Call us: 604.788.9145
Email: info@sutherlandconsulting.com
Web: www.sutherlandconsulting.com
Mailing address: 5212 Maple Street, Vancouver, BC V6M 3T5

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