Tom Lemanski's

Leadership Breakthroughs

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Tom Lemanski's

Leadership Breakthroughs

Ideas for Leaders Who Inspire

Tom Lemanski

Gaining More Appreciation

Note of Appreciation

Gaining Gratitude

Thankless Jobs

We regularly hear folks complain about being overworked and underpaid.  Maybe you’ve said it about yourself.  The underpaid part shows a lack of appreciation.  Pay is but one form of expressing appreciation. But in absence any other form, the feeling of being underpaid for your efforts or generally unappreciated is diminishing.  Let’s briefly explore the lingering question:

How do I get more appreciation?

If you think about it, it’s a selfish question.  Finding the answer requires an unselfish approach. 

Appreciation Note

Sow First. Reap Later

If you truly want to be appreciated, start by being a more appreciative person yourself. When was the last time you expressed your gratitude for quality work?  What might happen if you were intentionally more grateful? 

Seedling

What appreciative seeds might you start planting today?

If you want to be appreciated, become more a more appreciative person yourself.

How might you develop your appreciation skills?  Here’s an idea.  

Tokens of Appreciation

When giving or receiving a “token of “appreciation” it means that you receive/give a small gift for an action you have done or appreciated. The “token” means that the gift itself does not compare to the action that was taken.  – Dr. Susan Keyser

Appreciation Budgeting

Imagine that EVERY day you were given 5 Way-To-Go Tokens AND you were required to spend them by the end of each day by catching people doing something right.  What impact would that have?  How much more appreciation might you eventually receive in return?  

Token of Appreciation
Tally Hashmark

HINT: You don’t need the actual coins/tokens to try this out. Paper and pen can track your spending equally well.  So, go forth and appreciate. Then allow The Law of Reciprocity to take affect.

Acknowledgements

  • Thanks to Bob Kaufman for sharing the give to get concept.  
  • The first two photo images courtesy of Creative Commons.  Authors are unknown.  
  • In their book The One Minute Manager, Kenneth Blanchard Spencer Johnson introduce the idea of trying to catch people doing something right. This opposes the opposite, negative habit of finding fault. 
  • Disclosure: We have an affiliate relationship with Amazon that pays a small commission on product recommendations.  This relationship is more about convenience that revenue. 

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