You Don't Have to Be a Genius to Motivate Others

Photo by David Blumenkrantz

Thank You

Thank you for reading.

Thank you for your shares, retweets, +1s, and emailing these posts on to others.

Thank you for leading - for the difference you are making in someone else's life.

Gratitude

I frequently write about the role of gratitude in effective leadership. 

We need the regular reminder. 

It's so easy in the urgency of our vision or the press of daily life to forget how much we are given.

Little Things

No one has to do anything for us.

Every act of service we receive...every kind word...every contribution of a team member...each of these is a gift for which we can be grateful.

Motivation

It is a simple thing - but most of us prefer to serve where there is gratitude.

I know of no source of motivation greater than the power of sincere thanks - it communicates respect, acknowledges another's dignity, and keeps the thanker humble.

Take care and Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. readers!

David M. Dye

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David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.

Are You Throwing Away Influence?

Photo by kanko

Every day aspiring leaders have multiple chances to increase their influence, but these opportunities are often ignored.

These vital missed chances speak volumes about the leader and their sense of entitlement or ignorance of others. It can be an epidemic of lost leadership!

You can reverse the trend and increase your influence if you simply:

Show appreciation.

That's it! Effective leaders understand that no one owes them a thing. Even a parent taking care of their child, while clearly right and moral, is still optional. Leaders consistently take advantage of opportunities to demonstrate their appreciation for others.

People give their best effort when they want to do something. So go ahead - show some appreciation.

• Say thank you. Regularly. Whenever anyone does something for you...can we ever express enough gratitude?

• Celebrate accomplishment. Take time to acknowledge the things you want more of. If someone does an exceptional job, but it doesn't seem to matter to you - you're much less likely to see it again. Even the most internally motivated like to know they've done well.

• Find out how people like to be acknowledged. Some prefer a quiet thank you in private. Others are motivated by public recognition. Still others by an afternoon off, or lunch on you, or a dinner with their spouse. There are many ways to encourage and thank others - just be sure to do it in a way that matters to them.

• Celebrate values. If someone lives out an organizational value - even if the outcome isn't what they hoped - honor them. Tell the story! 

• The five bean technique. This one has been around a long time, but is a great system for developing a personal habit of encouraging others. Place five beans or other small objects in one pocket. Each time you encourage someone for something meaningful, transfer one object to your other pocket. Don't leave for the day until you've got all five objects transferred. Several weeks of this and you'll be a regular encourager!

How do you show appreciation for your team?

For more, read: It Never Gets Old

Thanks for reading,

David M. Dye

If you know someone who would benefit from this post or the entire blog, please retweet, like, share, +1, or email it on. Thanks!

Subscribe today or join the discussion at: http://davidmdye.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @davidmdye
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmdye
****
David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.

It Never Gets Old

Photo by HuNo

I recently spent time with a group of nonprofit leaders discussing a wide variety of issues relevant to the sector. When I reviewed their written evaluations of our time together, I was surprised at the frequency with which one concept was mentioned as their most valuable take-away.

The prized concept of the day? Saying thank you.

We had discussed how gratitude is so vital to everything we do and we had discussed practicalities - how to say thank you in ways that are meaningful to the person you're thanking. The reminder to be consistent and relevant with our gratitude was easily the most frequently cited material we discussed.

Some of the most lasting, fundamental, and impacting truths are also some of the most basic.

But sometimes these are also the most difficult to implement consistently. Do we let ourselves fall into habits of entitlement or do we recognize the miracle that is another person freely giving of their time, love, energy, or skills?

Effective leaders and managers are consistent and precise with their gratitude. Remember that "keeping a job" or avoiding being fired only produces a minimum amount of effort. Everything beyond the minimum - we do that because we want to.

When I am teaching leadership to young people, I encourage them to start with the basics. Surprise whoever cooks their food with a specific bit of gratitude: "This chicken is great - thanks for taking the time!" But the same goes for adults - is their any marriage that couldn't benefit from more frequent "thank you for washing the laundry or taking out the trash" ?

Basic appreciation - it never gets old.

Thank YOU for reading today and for sharing this blog with those who might benefit!

David M. Dye

If you know someone who would benefit from this post or the entire blog, please retweet, like, share, +1, or email it on. Thanks!

Subscribe today or join the discussion at: http://davidmdye.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @davidmdye
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmdye
****
David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.