Earth, Wind & Fire Gets It. Do You?

As we welcome my favorite month, I’m reminded of my favorite song.  “September” is a song by American R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire, written by Maurice White, Al McKay and Allee Willis. It was released as a single in 1978 and reached number one on the U.S. R&B chart, number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the UK singles chart.

Amazon.com describes the MP3 download as follows: September is one of those songs that you can play anytime, anywhere and it just makes you feel good.  Do you know what else makes people feel good and engaged in their work?  Being appreciated at work having one’s efforts acknowledged.

When is the last time you took the time to recognize someone for their great work (either in the workplace or at home)?  This gesture may seem minor, but it’s not, as it’s one of the key factors that helps people feel engaged.  And we all know that when a person feels engaged, they give more discretionary effort, are more creative and produce better results.

One way to keep recognition top of mind is to create a weekly reminder on your calendar to acknowledge three people who have helped you, impressed you or surprised you.  Start with three recognitions a week and you may be surprised at how easy it is to dole out praise weekly to more people in the near future.

From my experience, it feels good to make another person’s day, so being generous with your praise may soon become an addiction. You are online now reading this, so take the opportunity now to send an email to several people acknowledging them and a specific contribution that they made.  Go ahead, make their day.