Let Your Team Know You Appreciate Them

Working in teams is more common—and more crucial to organizational success—than it’s ever been. At our company, we define a team as?two or more persons who come together for a common purpose and who are mutually accountable for results.

No matter whether teammates are face to face, virtual, or some mixture of the two, members of a high-performance team have the following mindsets in common:

• They require?clarity in communication?above all else.
• They thrive on?trust?among members and leaders.
• They aren’t afraid of?conflict?because they know it is necessary for growth.
• Ultimately, a high-performance team essentially?leads itself.

If you have ever been part of a high-performance team, you know what a fulfilling experience it can be. Just for the fun of it, I referenced?Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust—my new book coauthored by Randy Conley—and found that the benefits of leading or working with a great team are featured in two of our Simple Truths.

SIMPLE TRUTH #19: “No one of us is as smart as all of us.”—Eunice Parisi-Carew and Don Carew

Servant leaders realize leadership is about working alongside their people, sharing information and keeping lines of communication open. When that happens, people get to know each other’s strengths and build on them to help their team perform at the highest level.

SIMPLE TRUTH #36: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” —Maya Angelou

As a trusted servant leader, when you establish a sincere, caring environment through your words and actions, you can be assured people on your team will always remember you for the way you made them?feel.

To make these commonsense truths common practice:

• Show your teammates you care through friendly camaraderie and acts of kindness.
• Ask for help from one another when making decisions or trying to find solutions to problems.
• Encourage your teammates to catch each other doing things right and praise progress. People never tire of being told they’re doing a good job. It’s good for motivation, morale, and momentum.

I have been a member of a fabulous team for the past three months—the folks who are working together on marketing and promotion for?Simple Truths of Leadership. Our team fits the definition of having a common purpose and being accountable for results, and we all share the four mindsets I mentioned above. Each person is a self-directed achiever with special skills and unique talents. What a joy it is to be part of this team!

So please allow me to take this opportunity to thank the extraordinary?Simple Truths?marketing and promotion team. First, our internal team at Blanchard:

• Marketing leads:?Randy Conley, David Witt, Vicki Stanford, Debbie Blanchard
• Media Team (videos, podcasts, blog posts, articles):?Michael Bowles, Adrian Henke, Chad Gordon, Renee Broadwell, Lisa Boyle, Evelyn De La Garza, Cheryl Horton, Richard Andrews, Mike Ortmeier
• Social Media Team:?Stefanie Hincks, Martha Lawrence, Andrew Broschart, Kayla Ratz, Madeleine Blanchard, Sidney Hernandez

Second, our external team—our publisher and promotional partners:

• Berrett-Koehler Publishers:?Kristen Frantz, Katie Sheehan, Tryn Brown, Shanzeh Khurram, Zoe Mackey
• Weaving Influence:?Kelly Edmiston, Becky Robinson
• FSB Associates:?Anna Sacca, Fauzia Burke

So here’s a big shout out to all my teammates for your hard work these past months getting our book and its important message out to into the world! Each of you has made such a positive difference. Thank you so much.

Whether you are a team member among peers or a team leader leading direct reports, it’s important to let others on your team know you appreciate them. So don’t forget to show appreciation to the folks you work with. It only takes a minute to give people a much-needed boost—and it will make you feel good, too.