Appreciation, Gratitude and Empathy Are Powerful Ways To Lift People Up

I started my day today like I always do. I woke up at 3 a.m., drank water, ate my breakfast and left my house at 3.45 a.m. for my morning run-commute to work.

I don’t listen to music when I am running, otherwise I can’t think.

But when I was running today, I don’t know why, but some self-deprecating thoughts came to my mind. You know, life stuff.

I got to my office a little low and confused, even though I was full of adrenaline rushing through my body after my run.

When I was in front of my office door, I saw this on my little whiteboard:

That lifted me up. I took to me to a high. And I’ve been in a high ever since I saw that.

Why? Because that’s how you feel when you are valued.

How many times do we see our coworkers struggling with life or work, yet we remain on the sidelines? How many times we know of the great work they’ve done, but we say nothing? How many times do we enjoy the outcomes of the work, but don’t say thank you or give them credit? How many times do we take our coworkers for granted?

Showing appreciation and gratitude is a powerful, very powerful way to rock somebody’s world in a positive way.

You can lift them up

By showing that you value your coworkers you are lifting them up. I don't want them just to lean in, but to stand up and tall! It doesn’t matter if they seem to be happy all the time. Even the happiest person in the world can make good use of a nice compliment or word of support and appreciation.

It shows you care

In an episode of the show Friends, a guy yelled at his coworkers “I am going to kill myself today!!!!”… Nobody even blinked. Until Phoebe (one of the “Friends” characters) talked him out of it by helping him discover the good things about him and how good he was. Showing appreciation for others is also a way to show that you care for them.

It’s the right thing to do

Showing appreciation goes together with thanking people for their contributions and, more importantly, giving them credit for their hard work. Stealing people’s ideas doesn’t make you smart, it makes you an asshole... and it also brings down the person who created the idea and wasn't acknowledged properly for it. Not thanking people for their work is equivalent to taking them for granted. Forget about all the shit of “that’s what they are paid for…” kind of thing. Say thank you. It’s easy, cheap, quick, but it can go a long way!

Empathy goes far

Showing appreciation, thanking people and valuing their contributions are powerful things to do. It makes the “giver” an awesome person and it gives a happiness infusion to the receiver. Don’t take people for granted, least so the ones that seem to be ok with not receiving that empathy (sometimes they are the ones who need it the most). Care for others, and hopefully they will care for you as well. 

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About the author:

Enrique is an HR and Tech Evangelist and founder of Hacking HR Forum. Enrique came to the United States from Venezuela as a Fulbright Scholar. Prior to coming to the US, Enrique was the CEO at Management Consultants, a firmed specialized in Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility in Venezuela. Before Management Consultants, Enrique worked in the telecommunications sector as a Senior Project Engineer for Telefonica. He currently works as an advisor for the CHRO at the Inter-American Development Bank. He is also the cofounder of Cotopaxi, an artificial intelligence based recruitment platform focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. Enrique is a guest author in several blogs about innovation, management and human resources. He has over twenty years of experience. Enrique holds an Electronic Engineering from Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela and an Executive Master’s in Public Administration from Maxwell School in Syracuse, New York. Enrique also holds a Design Thinking certification from Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, he is certified Scrum Master and PMP.

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