Tell me about your workplace environment. What’s the general attitude or “feel” of the office?
Hopeful and energetic? Downtrodden and despondent? Somewhere in between?
What’s your personal reaction to this environment? How do you work within it or contribute to improving it? Do you see this as your responsibility?
I believe it is every person’s responsibility to contribute to a work environment and culture they want. If you think about it, every person already is – consciously or subconsciously – by their regular comments, efforts, actions and interactions. The challenge is that those “cultural contributions” can be positive or negative.
So, how do you – and I mean you, personally and individually – create a culture of appreciation? It starts by choosing to be more appreciative yourself, with no hidden agenda but out of a sincere desire to notice, acknowledge and praise the good work of those around you.
Laurie Ruettimann shares a good story in her post yesterday on TLNT, with this key piece of advice:
The way you thank people is by doing good work yourself and not looking for a thank you. When you get a chance to pay it forward and say thank you, do it. But don’t wait around for a letter of thanks to come your way.” (Emphasis original)
Let’s break that down:
Now, today, look around your workplace. Consider the people you work with. Who can you proactively say “thank you” to in a meaningful, personal and specific way?
What’s stopping you?
You can find more from Derek Irvine on the Recognize This! blog.