I was facilitating an on-site training for a business recently. Several times during the training the request was made by the employees, “for managers and leaders to acknowledge the positive.”

I have found this to be a common theme in most every business. Employees often feel like the only time they get attention is when they are doing something wrong instead of when they are doing things right.

This is why I intentionally choose to begin my leadership training's by having the owner acknowledge something that they sincerely appreciate about each of the leaders.

In one training in particular, I took this one step further. I encouraged each of the leaders to then share with their team something that they genuinely appreciated about each member of their team.

One of the leaders said, “You know it’s interesting… while I often thank my employees at the end of the day, I don’t thank them for anything in particular. I just say, “thank you.” I’ve realized the value and importance in truly acknowledging the specifics around what they have done that is worthy of acknowledgement.”

Think about a time when someone gave you a compliment (at work or in your personal life). Didn’t it feel great? Did you experience an immediate surge of energy and feel your spirits lift?

Acknowledgement is a gift to both the giver and receiver because both people end up feeling more energized as a result.

Here are 3 simple tips to powerfully acknowledge another person…

Start with a simple thank you.
Tell them specifically why you are acknowledging them. Share the details. Don’t just say, “thank you for doing a great job today.” Tell them exactly what they did that made you realize that they had done a great job.
Tell them how their actions impacted you or another person. For example, “I noticed how you took the time to give that customer your full attention today, even though you had lots of other things to do. I could tell that they left the store feeling heard and that you really made a difference for them. It made me feel excited to have someone like you on my team who really cares about our customers.”
I want to invite you to set the intention to acknowledge at least two people today (identify one person in your business and one person in your personal life).

Decide today that as a leader you are going to create a work culture and personal life that is filled with the power of positive acknowledgement!

Author's Bio: 

Are you a small business owner who would like to discover unique, cutting edge approaches for leading your team to double sales while making an extraordinary impact in your business?

Leslie has over 20 years of experience in leading workshops, educational seminars and empowering small business owners and entrepreneurs around the topic of empowering their teams to double their sales and achieve outrageous results while making an extraordinary impact.
Leslie is an international author whose work has appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and a monthly columnist for “Balance: A Magazine for Montana Women”.
Leslie is a radio personality and former talk show radio host. She hosted her own weekly 2-hour call-in talk radio show called “Living Richly,” and has appeared live on CBS (formally CNN) News Talk Radio. She interviewed experts like 6-time Oprah guest Olivia Mellan and SARK whose national bestsellers have sold more than two million copies, and numerous other authors and speakers.
Award-winning Small Business Mentor and Teamwork expert, Leslie Cunningham is one of the leading experts in empowering small business owners to double their sales, performance and bottom line profits with their employee teams.
She has over 20 years experience in working with small business owners and entrepreneurs and facilitating groups, developing educational programs and building cohesive teams to achieve breakthrough results.