Things have been incredibly pacy and complex in our business in the last year. One of the things that we don’t always do as well as we could when we’re in that mode is pause to reflect and celebrate our achievements… and there are literally hundreds of these every single day. So I’m really excited that, to coincide with our return to service, we’re launching a refreshed approach to employee recognition, ship and shore, to recognise colleagues that are living our Culture Essentials. You can read more about that here.
An employee recognition scheme is only one part of the recognition story though. How many opportunities do each of us miss every day to stop, notice, understand, appreciate and be grateful for the ‘ordinary’ contribution of our colleagues, our team members and even those that lead us? How often are we taking smaller acts of courage, kindness, insight, generosity, inspiration for granted? And if we do, what could we be losing out on in the future as a result?
The challenge with more formal recognition is that it’s normally attached to specific and tangible tasks or deliverables; it can be infrequent, lean towards the what versus the how, and tend to focus on celebrating only what’s gone well, rather than seeing the value that’s gained from failure and learning. We know that our last eNPS pulse survey indicated we may be at times falling short when it comes to our aspiration to be an inclusive employer. I wonder the impact that a collective reset around how we value others might have? If we were to really reframe how we appreciate others, to celebrate the what and the how and to make it a more regular part of how we interact at Carnival UK?
The power of showing appreciation
Appreciation is a hugely powerful thing. By showing appreciation to someone else you:
- fuel their inspiration and purpose, confidence and self-esteem
- unleash performance potential by affirming desired behaviours
- create a sense of acceptance, belonging and inclusion
- all of which contribute to a sense of wellbeing
It’s also really rewarding for you in:
- promoting a more optimistic and positive outlook; enabling you to feel gratitude in challenging situations
- naturally improving your own performance and that of your team by instilling a desire to collaborate, listen and learn
- encouraging you to see the value of differing perspectives – helping you to be more inclusive
“Expressing genuine appreciation or gratitude, in which you’re clear about specifically what you valued and why, can create powerful, human connections when it’s done authentically.”
The above is pretty compelling from a work relationships, productivity and performance perspective. Importantly and more than that though, it means that the interactions we have at work, can contribute to making us happier, healthier human beings at home.
Those of you who know me, have heard me speak or read my blogs, know that I try and practice daily gratitudes, which help me notice and appreciate moments of value from the day. It’s something I’ve done for years and genuinely helps me to keep a healthy perspective on how things are going in my life despite the challenges I may have faced in the day. So some great questions we can ask ourselves:
- Recognising my own bias and preference for x, y and z, who might be missing out on some appreciation?
- Who do I know that’s great at recognising others – who is recognising them?
- Have I told my line manager/colleague when a particular style way of working or style of feedback has been really powerful for me?
- What’s my motivation for showing appreciation? How often am I using it as an in-road to more difficult feedback? Am I showing appreciation for appreciation’s sake enough?
- When I’m saying thank you, am I being thoughtful about what I’m saying thank you for so it has real meaning for the recipient?
- Am I thinking beyond my own team/department in appreciating the contribution of others?
- Am I reflecting on the value of failure and learning as well as the big wins?
Recognition, appreciation, gratitude – whatever you want to call it. It’s an essential part of us creating an open, trusting and caring culture so I’d love for it to be a collective mission to get really good at it.
It’s always important to say thank you but expanding the sentiment makes it meaningful and empowering.
- I noticed x, that can’t have been easy
- I really liked how you did x today
- What you did helped me by xxx
- What was particularly impactful was when you did x
- When you did x, it made me/them feel y
Some ideas for building some appreciative habits into your working week:
- Team meetings – use shout outs to thank team mates and discussed appreciation to be shared outside of the team –
- No ifs and buts – make a point of appreciating someone each day, WITHOUT CAVEATS
- Show your appreciating by sending a ‘Thank You’ e-card!
- And finally…finish each day by reflecting on someone or something that you’re grateful for and share it with them