Categories for 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace
I recently presented in Florida for the WCFSA (West Central Florida Safety Alliance). The event was aimed at learning how to manage Insurance and Safety Risks. The day of learning was intended to help members learn how to drive healthy organizational behavioral change, increase employee engagement and job satisfaction. I gladly presented the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace because regardless of what organizational missives you are trying to ‘reach’ or ‘manage’, organizations need buy-in, trust, and effective communication – and you just simply get that and more when you unleash the 5 Languages into the DNA of your organization.... Continue reading...
February 3, 2016 12:27 pm
Recently, I had the privilege to meet and listen to Ginger Hardage, Senior Vice President of Culture and Communications for Southwest Airlines. (I happened to be the morning keynote speaker and she was the afternoon keynote speaker.) One phrase used to describe Southwest Airlines was that they were “in the customer service business and just happened to use airplanes to help people get where they want.” Ginger’s presentation was a refreshing reminder that truly successful enterprises understand that their primary calling is to serve the customer and, that by doing so, they will be profitable. (As opposed to the seemingly... Continue reading...
By Dr. Paul White Most employee recognition programs place a lot, if not all, of the responsibility for recognizing good work of their team members squarely on the shoulders of managers or supervisions. This is unfortunate and, actually, creates unwanted negative effects. Clearly, calling attention to work done well by employees is a good habit to practice. When staff feel valued for the contributions they make, a sense of loyalty and emotional engagement to the mission of the organization develops. But focusing solely on managers and supervisors to support and communicate appreciation to their staff often is an unrealistic goal that creates... Continue reading...
There’s an old song I always find cheering. It’s called “Scatter Sunshine” and gives terrific advice about how you can make the world a better place every day. The first verse reads: In a world where sorrow ever will be known Where are found the needy and the sad and lone, How much joy and comfort you can all bestow, If you scatter sunshine everywhere you go. Scatter sunshine all along your way. Cheer and bless and brighten Every passing day. In a world full of people complaining about everything going wrong in their lives and where the... Continue reading...
Do you ever wish you could do something meaningful? That you could make the world a better place? Well, you can! One of the easiest ways to make a difference in the world is by taking a small action to help other people feel appreciated, accepted and valued. Here are five ways you can make the world a better place by brightening someone’s world today: #1 Visit Someone. So much of our communication is digital these days. It can make someone’s day to have a real, live, caring person show up just to say hello (without asking for something, like... Continue reading...
Every Spring a national “event” captures the attention of millions of employees: the NCAA “March Madness” basketball tournaments (both men’s and women’s). Individuals who are die-hard basketball fans, those who may follow their local college team when they are doing well, and people who just like to pick teams according to their mascots – all become intrigued and involved in following the games. Understanding “March Madness” While “March Madness” is typically referred to as a singular event, those familiar with the tournaments know that they actually are a series of games and regional tournaments over a three week period. The... Continue reading...
One of the lessons that aspiring leaders and those who want to continue to develop their leadership abilities must learn is: to be an effective leader, you have to learn how to lead individuals who are different than you. If you don’t, you will only be able to gather and lead those who are similar to you in personality, perspective or ability; and this, in turn, limits what you can accomplish. Although at first the idea seems intriguing, you actually don’t want to lead a group of “Junior You’s”. You may be talented but you can’t do everything, and to... Continue reading...
Many, many organizations have taken their managers and team members through personality style assessments and training programs. The most common are StrengthFinders, the DISC, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, and sometimes, the Colors Test. Often we are asked, “How do the 5 languages of appreciation relate to these personality assessments?” We have found that The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace and the Motivating By Appreciation Inventory are excellent tools that complement these personality tools and training and are in no way either repetitive or competitive. That is, the 5 Languages concepts and the results from the MBA Inventory cover different concepts and actually... Continue reading...
When people are upset prior to going into work or a meeting, they often try to take a couple of minutes to calm down and quell the surface signs of their distress; sometimes by putting a smile on their face before entering. Their hope is that they are leaving their problems at the door and communicating a positive image to their colleagues. However, the disappointing reality is that bad moods are just as contagious as the flu bug. Once present, negative thoughts and feelings can’t be contained easily. Dr. Richard Boyatzis, a neurologist and organizational development professor at Case Western... Continue reading...
October 17, 2014 10:36 am
Fast paced and noisy. Often over worked and taking on too many more tabletops than they’re supposed to. Dealing with hungry and “hangry” people (people who get really angry when they’re hungry). In any business, your frontline employees (those who are in direct contact with your customer) actually “are” the company in the mind of the customer. It’s even more important in these interactions that your team understand their own language of appreciation and seek clues and confirmation of the language of appreciation of their co-workers and customers. In the fast paced nature of the hospitality industry, effectively appreciating your... Continue reading...
One of the most frequently asked questions I receive when I’m training groups is: “Are there generational differences related to the 5 languages of appreciation?” The simple answer is: Yes, there are. Just as there are individual preference differences in how employees want appreciation communicated, so we are finding some diversity across the generations of workers, as well. (As is true for any group comparison, these trends seem to be generally true but there are clearly individual differences within the generations.) Let me cite a few examples. Words of Affirmation. We have found that younger employees may or may not... Continue reading...
Like any workplace, schools need to ensure that employees feel appreciated for their good work… Educational Leadership Article – By Dr. Paul White
So you want to work at Google? Or Apple? Or one of the “cool” places where they have free food, flexible work hours, and an informal work environment? But the challenge is – you don’t live near Silicon Valley or have the skill set they require. (The second issue is the real limitation, isn’t it?) So what can you do where you work currently? Even though you may not be the owner of your company, or even a high level executive, you can help make your workplace become “the” place to work. Really. It is all about influence. We all... Continue reading...
The news is repetitive and blaring: employers are complaining about the inability to find qualified applicants for positions that need to be filled. I have seen three articles in business magazines this week about the issue. Part of the discussion is about the irony — having 10+ million workers who can’t find work, while employers reporting they can’t find potential employees who meet the needs they have. (In fairness, there are employers interviewed in the articles saying they aren’t having this problem.) The issue is both national and local, and across multiple industries and workforces. Key term to understand: qualified... Continue reading...
March Madness (the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments) is upon us. For some, this may be the only time they watch a basketball game all year. For millions of others, March Madness provides the opportunity to cheer their favorite team, and to place some friendly wagers in the office pool for the tournament bracket. This year’s tournament, interestingly, may be impacted by the concept of appreciation. One men’s team that is being watched closely by many (for different reasons) is Wichita State University. The WSU Shockers (which is short for “wheat shockers”, the people that used to cut wheat... Continue reading...
“Fun”, “playing” and “work” or “job” are rarely talked about together — with the exception of those few, rare companies (typically on the West Coast) where they try to make the workplace more fun and creative. But recently, I had an experience that led me to begin to think about the importance of playing and having fun, and how they impact our daily lives at work. A little over a week ago, we had a fairly large snowstorm roll through, leaving about 7 inches of snow on the ground (which is a fair amount for us.) After a number of... Continue reading...
February 19, 2014 5:58 pm
Posted on the 03 October 2011 by Candacemoody Gary Chapman and Paul White are the authors of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. Their book discusses why appreciation is one of the most important elements of employee motivation and satisfaction. The Five Languages of Appreciation are based on the Five Languages of Love, which is why they include Physical Touch, although physical touch is a tricky proposition in any workplace. As it turns out, very few workers (almost none) identified physical touch as even part of how they seek or show appreciation in the workplace. As more and more human... Continue reading...
February 15, 2014 1:53 pm
Valentine’s day is quickly approaching. It is a great opportunity to communicate your love to those close to you. Unfortunately, it seems many in the world of employee recognition try to link recognition and appreciation to any holiday (I can’t wait to see what they try to do with St. Patrick’s Day!) So let me state firmly upfront — there isn’t (or shouldn’t be) much connection between Valentine’s Day and communicating appreciation in the workplace. Why? Because Valentine’s Day is about personal relationships – spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends (and maybe other family and friends, to a lesser degree.) Let’s keep our boundaries... Continue reading...
Friends, I am aware that the links to the two video clips did not work (they somehow got changed in the posting process). I have corrected the links and you should be able to view the videos now. Sorry for the inconvenience! * * * * * * About a week ago, a frustrated young professional posted a video announcing and celebrating her quitting her job (ironically, at a company who creates videos to be watched on the Internet). If you haven’t seen the video yet, please click here and take two minutes to watch it. Why? Well, first, it... Continue reading...
Friends, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by David Hassell of 15Five.com for his blog. David is a young entrepreneur and sports enthusiast who was recently on the cover of Forbes magazine and cited as “the most connected man you don’t know in Silicon Valley”. I was able to share some of the lessons we have been learning about the workplace over the past couple of years, including the fact that most employee recognition programs don’t have much impact on individual team members feeling valued and appreciated. The interview is short (< 15 minutes). I hope you’ll take the... Continue reading...
I have just returned from a week in Beijing, China, where I was invited to attend a conference sponsored by the publisher who is translating and publishing Dr. Chapman’s and my book, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, in Chinese. The conference attendees were various Western business and organizational leaders and we were addressed by a variety of Chinese experts and leaders on “The Next Ten Years” in China. They shared what is happening now and the trends to come in demographics (moving from 75%+ rural to approximately 50% urban currently), the family unit (the impact of 33... Continue reading...
Thanksgiving is the holiday where we are encouraged to be thankful for the good things in our lives – health, safety, adequate food, clothing, and shelter, as well as the many material blessings we have. For most people, Thanksgiving is usually more of a personally-focused celebration, including sharing meals and time with family and friends.But the Thanksgiving holiday season can also be an opportunity to focus on, and be reminded of, the positive aspects of our work lives. This is especially true in these more difficult economic times, where many who desire employment are unable to find work or have... Continue reading...
November 17, 2011 12:43 pm
Labor Day used to be a day to recognize the benefits of organized labor and, more broadly, celebrate the American work ethic. More recently, however, it serves as a painful reminder of the deterioration of the American workplace. The national statistics, with unemployment between 9 percent and 17 percent depending on whom you ask, are bad enough. But even for the employed, work has become a barely bearable chore, with only 45 percent of workers in a recent survey saying they were happy with their careers. Many companies have withheld raises and bonuses over the past two years while reducing... Continue reading...
September 5, 2011 12:26 pm
Friends, I thought I would just give you a brief update on issues regarding my book, the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, with Dr. Gary Chapman, and “happenings” on our website. The #1 question people ask is: “How are book sales?” so I’ll answer that first. 1. Book sales are going fine. They aren’t meteoric but they have increased steadily every week for four weeks (including presales prior to the official launch). We are not only selling books through retail but also we are getting a fair number of bulk book orders for businesses and organizations. 2. We’ve... Continue reading...
In the past two weeks since the launch of Dr. Chapman’s and my book, the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, I have had over 20 media interviews — radio (mostly), TV, and print. It has been a fun and interesting experience — and I have more to do in the coming weeks. I thought I would share some of the lessons and observations I have made from these interviews with radio & TV hosts, and magazine writers. Most people understand and agree that appreciation in the workplace is needed and can be extremely impactful. Everyone sees that the... Continue reading...
www.appreciationatwork.comFriends, I am excited that the book project I have been working on with Dr. Gary Chapman for the past 4+ years is fully released to the public today. It is available at www.amazon.com , www.bn.com (Barnes & Noble), www.booksamillion.com, www.christianbook.com and you can also go to bookstores and it should be there (it should be a “front table” display at Barnes & Noble.) In addition to the hardback version, there are also e-book versions (for Kindle & Nook), an audiobook version, and the Spanish version is coming out soon. I am going to be unabashedly mercenary here and ask... Continue reading...
