The greatest of all leaders have a backstory. Many of them – Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk had some sort of hurdle they needed to overcome. Chances are, your story is similiar. Perhaps you weren’t picked to be “Most Likely to Succeed” in your high school. Maybe you really had to convince the ‘powers that be’ that you were the right person to drive your store’s targets. In the ultra competitive and highly politicised world we’re living in, managing a retail store remains one of the most stressful career paths known to the modern world. It’s not just customer service, it’s staff motivation and the ever-present spotlight on store turnover. We approached you today, to help frame your leadership style and drive staff to follow your lead. We approached you today, because in uncertain times, your career prospects will almost certainly depend on your reputation as a manager and we want to help you grow and protect it.
Authentic Appreciation.
It’s the one thing the greatest leaders of all time consistently did. Here’s the thing, aside from practicing it out of the goodness of their hearts, they also embarked on authentic appreciation because they knew it was the greatest hack into motivating their teams to achieving objectives.
We’re behaviour-intelligence specialists. Here’s a freebie regarding authentic appreciation:
-It cannot be copy/pasted.
-It cannot be inconsistent.
-It cannot be general.
Using Phumla, here’s the formula for Authentic Appreciation:
-Be specific about what you are expression thanks for e.g. Phumla, Thank you for lending a hand to Amy with unpacking the new stock arrivals.
-Acknowledge what trait of your staff member you are appreciating e.g. I know it’s not in your KPA and you had the reports to compile, but you are always so willing to roll up your sleeves.
-Build up their self-esteem e.g. I am definitely adding this to your performance review that’s coming up later this year.
What kills Authentic Appreciation?
-Buzzwords
-Lack of eye contact
-Emails, Whatsapp messages or giving appreciation in an incidental manner (in passing)
Do Authentic Appreciation right
Cardiology might have the flare for writing, where you don’t. If you can’t string a sentence together, we’ve got your back. You can always trust us to write unique, impactful messages that preserve your legacy as a great leader.
Giving your staff member a card is something they will keep forever. Not only that, they are likely to proudly display it for others in the team to see, thereby setting in motion a call to higher standards among all. They herd mentality for validation is a powerful force to use in your leadership. Once one person sees a positive response, others will want your approval, too.
Here are ways you can share Authentic Appreciation:
- CoSign by Cardiology | A contact-less group card for Farewells, Sympathy, Congratulations and so on. Great for team building and the cost of the card can be split amongst team members.
- Personalised Cards | Great for any occasion and marvelously designed with a name on the front and a beautiful message inside.
- Personalised Tags | Trendy, premium quality tags that keep it short and simple
Look, we know that the leadership you are tasked with has it’s challenges. We know you’re trying your best under extremely difficult circumstances. What sets you apart and put you in line with the greatest leaders of all time is that your gratitude is purpose-driven. Bill Gates made sure he memorised the names of every person he interacted with; Steve Jobs was notorious for getting to know what mattered in the lives of this team and used those preferences to motivate them to work harder; and Elon Musk has a “grow with me” approach in which he speaks to the future self of his staff members and regularly gets them to buy into the vision of themselves at the top.
Your role as manager has to come to an end at some point. You always want to be remembered as that leader who left things better than you found it and who demonstrated memorable leadership. Let us help you get there.