An
important part of interpersonal success is the creation of positive
relationships with co-workers, vendors, clients and supervisors.
When you recall that an important communication norm in the
business environment is reciprocity,* it's easy to understand that good relationships are build on a recognition of each others' positive efforts.
A positive recognition is NOT simply motivation or persuasion. People will do things because they are forced to
do so, but without any choice in the matter or any sense that their
actions are helping others, the threats will not create a positive
relationship with the communicator!
Positive recognition is a message that builds a sense of teamwork with the communicator because it emphasizes two things:
- behavior that was chosen and
- the positive effect that behavior had on others.
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Depending
on the communication method, the first part of the thank you might be a
sentence or a full paragraph. The key is to clearly identify the
behavior that a person chose to take on your behalf.
A vague reference to "doing good work" or "everything you've done for
me" can be a nice pat on the back, but it won't do much to build a
positive, reciprocal relationship.
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Then,
be equally clear about how the action had a positive effect on others.
The behavior might have helped you personally, or it
might have helped the whole team meet its goals. Either way,
the person will understand that the choice had a meaningful effect on
others.
There's nothing worse than feeling like your choices and your effort
have no effect! Make sure that others around you are aware of the
good things that they do for you.
Give at least one "positive recognition" message to someone every day. |
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