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The Impact of Appreciation on Productivity

I recently watched a great TEDx Bellevue talk (see below) featuring renowned teamwork expert and former major league baseball player Mike Robbins (www.Mike-Robbins.com). The talk focuses on appreciation, a word not applied often enough to corporate cultures.

In his talk, Robbins shares how appreciation is relevant in the workplace and how it can have a profound impact on productivity. Furthermore, he makes an important distinction between recognition and appreciation.  Leaders who discern between the two enhance not only their impact and productivity, but those around them as well. (Hint:  One is really feedback; the other communicates value.) He also discusses important research in the field of positive psychology that illustrates the importance of appreciation in the workplace. Bottom line, appreciation needs to be a part of your organization’s culture.

I was equally intrigued by Robbins’s reflections on compliments. Most find them easier to give than receive. Robbins expounds on the importance of learning how to accept a compliment, and the ensuing positive effect doing so has on the giver, receiver, and the entire team.

Robbins is the author of four books, Focus on the Good Stuff, Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken, Nothing Changes Until You Do and Bring Your Whole Self to Work. His clients include Google, Wells Fargo, Harvard University, the NBA and more.

This talk has reshaped how I approach appreciation with my team.  How will you apply the “appreciation principle” to yours?