With a few well-placed kind words you can really make a persons day. So let me start by thanking you for reading this newsletter and I hope you’ll find 5 minutes to peruse it through to the end.

I once asked a group of managers how good they thought they were at encouraging their teams. One said, ‘I know I can do more but I’m terrified of my encouragement being mistaken for being patronising, so I just wait until formal reviews’.

What a shame. Here’s a boss with a team of 12 who get ‘formally encouraged’ during documented meetings every few months. He’s a nice person who wants to do more but he is gripped by fear.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a go and get it wrong than wait until it’s so ‘right’ it’s sterile.

A few years ago I worked with a large company who realised they could be better at recognising their staff and their efforts. One of the ideas we came up with to help them was for every member of staff to receive a ‘Thank You’ card.

We printed 4,500 cards and the Chief Exec sponsored the programme. She then had to send a card to each of her Area Mangers with a short description of what she was thanking them for. The Area Managers would do the same with their direct reports and so on. They had 90 days to complete the project.

The idea worked brilliantly. However, as well as the very nice feelings associated with doing this, four very interesting things happened...

	About 50% of the cards were sent in the first 14 days. It was as if people had something to say and (at last) the card was a way for them to say it.

	After 2 months if a member of staff hadn’t received a card they started to question why? Amazingly people started to be much more vocal about what they were doing well (or had stated to do well!) Part of the feedback was around how many people started to raise their game.

	Bosses were focusing on catching their teams doing something right. For some managers this was a major shift in their thinking.

	Years later many people still have their cards on their desks.

Here’s my challenge to you. Take one or two ideas from the list below and use them to encourage the people closest to you.

	Send a card and fill it with an encouraging message.

	Say a special thank you to a team-mate for their efforts and tell them why.

	When you see someone struggling – take some time to help them out. Time is your most precious asset and when given freely like this it will be appreciated.

	Ask better questions than, ‘Is everything alright?’ This question will create a stimulus response of ‘Yes, fine’. If you ask, ‘Is there anything I can help you with?’ you’ll get a better answer.

	Send a ‘You’re a Star’ e-card. Thousands of people have sent this free but thoughtful message to friends and colleagues around the world. You can do the same by clicking here (make sure you personalise it!)

That’s all there is to it. And, by the way, have I told you how great you’re looking today?

Be Brilliant!

Michael

Are You A Coach/Trainer/Speaker?

Find out more about our brilliant new bootcamp before the public announcement. Simply send an e-mail to info@michaelheppell.com and we'll get straight back to you with details.