Helping Companies Rethink, Recover & Refocus on the Future

Leslie leaves her job after 18 years for another that pays about the same amount of money.  Raymond leaves his new job of six months for another job that pays 50 cents an hour more with a longer commute.  Sarah is looking for a job in another field.  She is tired of the negativity at her current firm.  What do these three have in common?  They all did not feel appreciated at work.

What motivates us on the job?  How can we get the most from our employees?  Appreciation is the number one motivator above money, exciting work, and promotions.  Is that hard to believe?  It’s true, we have a critical need to feel appreciated on the job, and too many leaders won’t or don’t know how to show sincere appreciation at work.

Being appreciated helps replenish the internal drive to self-actualize at work.  The competitive need to be successful exists in all of us to varying degrees.  From the needy to the content, we desire to hear that we are making a difference, even in the smallest of details.

The worst of human offenders have the mindset that a “paycheck” is thanks enough for the work we provide for our employers.  This myopic view of the human condition cannot see the vast amounts of productivity left on the table daily.  Great leaders understand that sincere appreciation provides the energy we need to exert more significant effort constantly.  This energy can prevent us from taking the “path of least resistance” daily on the job.  Discretionary effort is the reward gained when people feel genuinely appreciated on the job.

As humans, we have a...

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