February
2005
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The Praise That Pays
Valentines… a time of year where people
want to feel loved and appreciated.
Many experience all the love anyone could hope for,
other’s wish for more.
To increase team morale, create outstanding service for your patients, and ultimately build practice productivity and profitability, catch your people in the act of doing things right whenever possible, and then acknowledge them for it. When contributions and achievements are both recognized and praised, you are building a practice atmosphere that will pulsate with joy and excitement.
I’ve never worked with anybody in a dental practice that complained of receiving too much praise. In fact, in most practices, team members wish they were acknowledged more.
Part of the human need for acknowledgement is that it provides feedback as to how well we are performing; it also lets us know if our behaviours are noticed. Feeling appreciated and valued is a vital component for creating a deeply satisfying work environment that builds loyalty, encouraging people to want to stay.
The Four Facets of Effective Recognition
Practice the Four Facets of Effective Recognition. Make it:
- Timely
- Spontaneous
- Specific
- Geared to the individual
Our ability to energize, inspire, and arouse people to even higher levels of performance is directly related to our ability to communicate. Strong leaders are strong communicators. They set the stage for a happy workplace atmosphere. Team members want to feel the passion, energy, and human side of their leaders before they can partner with them.
Ask Questions
To find out what your team members appreciate, ask them questions to help you get to know them better. Then, make a note of their answers in their personnel file for future reference. Two highly effective questions to ask are:
- What motivates you in your work?
- How would you like to be recognized and rewarded when you go above and beyond the call of duty?
Say Thank You!
The most effective way of boosting self-esteem is to say thank you. They are such simple words, but so incredibly important. Providing constant feedback and continual recognition for a job well will do wonders for building morale. And happy people perform better. Period.
Actions Speak Louder than Words
While hearing and reading words of acknowledgement and praise is incredibly important, keep in mind that actions speak louder than words. If you give somebody a wonderful compliment, and then later bitterly chastise them, in front of others, for doing something wrong, you may have just totally lost the benefit of your earlier kind words.
Encourage Suggestions
Consider having an idea box or post a sheet entitled Ideas in your team lounge for people to write their ideas and suggestions on. Then, at team meetings discuss the ideas. Most likely some great ideas will be generated! Frequently even simple ideas that are brought to the table can be further developed into powerful projects that will bring your practice multiple benefits. Be sure to validate each person for their contribution even if their idea is not used.
Involve Team Members in Practice Decisions
Team members want to be involved in the success of your practice and will have a greater feeling of achievement if they are involved in helping to make practice decisions. For example, if your office is being renovated, ask for input from your team members. Not only will they likely give you some good ideas, but they will also feel honored that you valued their opinion enough to ask.
This Valentines,
what will you do to acknowledge
your team members?
Action Item
Take the time right now to write out a note of praise to each of your team members telling them what you most appreciate about them. You might also want to give them flowers or some other form of tangible gift. On Valentines Day, and every day, what really counts is how much people feel appreciated. Make a commitment to start, or fine tune, a habit of thanking your team players for who they are and what they do.
Happy Valentines,
CoraMarie
About the Author
CoraMarie Clark, MBA is recognized
as a highly effective dental practice strategist.
She works with dentists that want to optimize
their potential both personally and professionally.
Her collaborative approach has helped teams develop
dynamic competitive strategies and achieve high
impact sustainable results.
If
you would like to explore the possibility of having
CoraMarie work with your Dental Practice or speak
for your Association or Group, contact us today.
CoraMarie
Clark
phone 403.686.6136
email coramarie@strategix-ltd.com
web strategix-ltd.com
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