Time to Celebrate

In the school business it is “COUNT DOWN TIME” to summer vacations. It is also time to finish those last minute lessons, time to turn in your grades and TIME TO CELEBRATE. Taking time to celebrate the year and the staff members who made it all happen with a form of positive feedback is unusual, it seems. In Quiet Leadership, David Rock notes that people get only 12 minutes of positive feedback in a year versus the thousands of hours of negative feedback from themselves and perceived feedback from others.

Time to Make a Change

In a 2004 Gallup survey it was found that 65 percent of U.S. workers received no recognition at all in the work place the year before. It seems positive feedback and recognition is seldom used in some work environments. Any organization wanting to enhance performance without the flow of positive feedback has no way of measuring growth. Dr. Gerald H. Graham, professor of management at Wichita State University found in a recent study of 1,500 employees in many work settings noted that the most powerful motivator was personalized, instant recognition from managers or leadership in the work place. He found that the top five most motivating techniques included: 1. The manager personally congratulates employees who do a good job. 2. The manager writes personal notes about their good performance. 3. The organization uses performance as the basis for promotion. 4. The manager publicly recognizes employees for good performance. 5. The manager holds morale building meetings to celebrate success.

Time to Make a Difference

Knowing the importance of taking time to celebrate, it is now time to honor and recognize others. Those organizations that chose to make it a priority to RECOGNIZE OTHERS in their organization with some form of positive feedback noted increased engagement with other colleagues. Their employees were more likely to stay with the organization and they also noted an increase in individual productivity.

By Joan Hearne