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Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership.
We often hear leaders say that they will appreciate their teams once a certain goal is achieved. These leaders do not understand the power of appreciating progress.
Healthy leaders appreciate results and progress. They understand that employees want to feel connected to their leader, their organization, and their purpose—not just after the final buzzer when the team wins, but throughout the game.
Let’s say a team member has a sales goal of closing ten deals by the end of the quarter. If you wait until the end of the quarter to discuss the employee’s performance, you will have missed the opportunity to positively encourage their progress along the way.
But if you notice a team member made the targeted fifty calls today, you can recognize this progress and increase the probability that this employee will make the targeted number of calls the next day. By the same token, if your team member makes only twenty-five calls in a day, you have an opportunity to encourage him or her and explain how the current call volume directly affects the team’s results.
There are different ways to create a feeling of connection among your team—through purpose, belonging, and appreciation. Healthy leaders know how to activate pathways of real connection so that everyone reaps the benefits.
People do more for those who appreciate them, and they do more of the behavior that is appreciated. This is a powerful human dynamic that healthy leaders know how to leverage.
