Appreciate People So They Will Appreciate

A lady I once worked with as my personal assistant taught me a lesson that has stayed with me to date: she said, “Whatever you appreciate, will appreciate.” It was an eye-opener for me at time. Then I was more focused on the weakness of people than on their strengths. We want people to get better, but we always tell them about their negative behaviors.

There is no better relationship to see how this is working out that an employer-employee relationship. Most employers don’t believe their employees can even do anything good. As such, they had to create rules that keep people in check. One of these rules is called values. Organizational cultures that are based on values were not taught by people who really believe in others.

If you believe people are rational beings, you will believe that they will do things that will help you or your organization make progress. Creating values and sets of behaviors by which everyone should act simply demonstrates your lack of belief in people. You must have believed that if you create a system that controls them, you will have what you want.

That is simply management. Bob Chapman describes management as the manipulation of others for your own success. There is no way you can control people and they will appreciate it at the same time. They will only be able to become and achieve what you want them to achieve. Appreciating them for what you are manipulating them to do will not bring out the best in them.

However, when they have the freedom to act and then perform well and you appreciate them, you will be reinforcing the faith they have in themselves. They will then believe they can do more and achieve more. That makes you a leader in that relationship.

When you act as the leader, you provide them with direction. When you build a relationship with them, you provide them with confidence. And when you believe in them, you provide them with the capability to do more. People will only appreciate under our care when we demonstrate that we believe in them.

In Nigeria, we have a culture that makes elders never appreciate younger people. The idea is that when you appreciate people younger than you, it will most likely get into their heads and they will become worse as a result. I don’t know if there were any empirical data on how that works, but it has become a part of all of us.

When you have a culture that is always focused on the wrong people will do rather than the right, you are going to have more people focused on doing wrong. For instance, when you have a government that punishes more people who steal money than rewards those who return the money as national heroes, everyone will want to be punished so they can be a hero for a few days.

If you are used to expecting people to wrong you in a relationship, you are going to attract people who will do that to you. Those who focus on the wrong done to them in a relationship, hardly celebrate those who do them good. Instead, they take them for granted. You will always attract more of what you expect. It becomes yourself fulfilling prophecies.

Here are what to do to appreciate people:

1. Listen to Them: People feel valued asked to state their opinion and feel respected when listened to.?

2. Celebrate Them For What They Do: People will continue to do what others celebrate them for.

3. Praise Them Publicly: People that are praised publicly feel good about themselves.

Appreciate people for the good they do and you will see more of it. When they appreciate, your relationship with them will appreciate and if they are your employees, your organization will appreciate.

Treat people as humans always.

Get into the Customer Acquisition Masterclass program by registering here https://forms.gle/J99PwQkiJFgzSCAg6

?