5 Ways to Show Your Appreciation for Your Team

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5 Ways to Show Your Appreciation for Your Team

Today, I am sharing a training that I incorporate into a lot of my workshops.

In today's episode, we're talking all about how to show your appreciation for your team and retain great employees. We dive into the 5 languages of appreciation based on Gary Chapman's books, what each of them mean and how you can best support your team using these languages. Tune into today's episode to learn more!

"When you get to know someone's core values, that's when you understand why they get up everyday and do what they do" - Danielle Cobo

Highlights

💫 2:51    Why it's important to know your team's core values

💫 4:16    What are the 5 languages of appreciation?

💫 5:54    How to show your appreciation using each of the languages

Let's Connect! 

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Understanding and Building Company Culture

Today I'm sharing with you some of the tools that I incorporate into my workshops to support company culture, because what's essential to company culture is connection. And when people feel valued at work, when people feel connected, that's when culture is faster. 

So in my workshop, some of the tips that I share is really understanding and kind of giving yourself a check as to how well you know your team. And what I mean by how well you know your team, how do you know your team beyond the surface level? What do they do last weekend? Ask yourself. Do you know their spouses’ names? Do you know their kids' names? Do you know what keeps them up at night? Do you know what their vision is in life? What's the one thing they regretted in life? What's the one thing they wish that they could do today or what's the one place they've always wanted to go, but maybe never went, and they're planning on going in the future? What's their favorite childhood memory? When you get to know people, that's when you get to create connection, that's when you get to have relationships with your team. So I invite you, ask yourself, how well do you know your team? Can you answer these questions? When you understand what they enjoy, what their hobbies are, what keeps them up at night, that's when you really get to support your team and the peers that you work with.

The next step is understanding what are their core values. Core values are what's most important to the person. And when you know somebody's core values, that's when you get to know their why. Why do they wake up every morning and do what they do? It's always related to their core values, and so there's exercise. I actually incorporate it into a lot of my workshops where it's called the core value exercise. You get, your teams provide if you're doing it virtually, you can have a digital version, or you can also order the physical cards and you can mail it to them. But what I do in these workshops is it's about a grouping of about 50 cards, and you first start with narrowing it down to about 15. Give them time to narrow it down to 15. What are the words and the phrases that speak to you the most? Then have a narrowed it down again. So maybe that's ten, then narrow it down to seven and then narrow it down to five. When you get to those five core values that is what's most important to them. That is their why, when you understand their why, that's when you truly understand the person. So when you are emailing a member of your team or if you're in communication and you're having a conversation with them and you really want to show your appreciation for them, incorporate their core values into your conversation. 

“Hey, Susie, I really appreciated it. How did you approach that situation? Your perseverance is exceptional.” If perseverance is important and that's one of their core values, incorporate it into how you communicate your appreciation for them. That what's really going to speak to the heart. That's when they know that you are understanding what's important to them – their why. When you can incorporate the words that are associated to their why, that's when you get to really show your appreciation. 

The other part that I include into my workshop is, if you've probably heard it, a book by Gary Chapman called The Five Languages of Appreciation. He's got the Five Love Languages. He also has an assessment called The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. So all of us receive appreciation differently, and the Five Love Languages Appreciation in the workplace is words of affirmation, quality time, tangible gifts, access service, and physical touch. What I mean with physical touch is appropriate physical touch. What you could be doing is, for example, you're telling this person over and over again how much you appreciate them and what a great job they're doing. But if that's not their preferred language of appreciation and quality time is, they would probably feel valued if you actually went to lunch with them, went to dinner with them, spent one-on-one quality time, that may be their preferred language. So I'm going to kind of break them down for you.

The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman

  1. Words of Affirmation 

    So if somebody really lives with feeling valued through words of affirmation, then complement them. You can incorporate those core values, find words that are going to support them, and show your appreciation. Also, it would be taking a step further if you write to somebody a handwritten card where words of affirmation are important to them, and that's their language of appreciation. They're most likely going to take that card, that handwritten card, and they're most likely going to keep it. They're going to save it. They may have it on their desk. And also if you're sending one – this is actually some advice a wedding planner gave me – send it in a colored envelope red, yellow, or whatever color you prefer. Because when you receive your mail, the first thing you're going to see is that colored envelope and that's the first one you're going to grab. It's really going to stand out. So a wedding specialist actually share that advice with me, and it really resonated. The other one is you want to avoid criticism for somebody where their language of appreciation in the workplace is words of affirmation. Criticism can really be detrimental to your relationship. So that is just one of them when it comes to language of appreciation.

  2. Quality Time

    So if someone's preferred language of appreciation is quality time, spend one-on-one time with them, go to lunch with them, have face-to-face conversations. They're probably the type of person that's actually going to enjoy having frequent touchpoints throughout the week or one-on-one calls because they really value that quality time, also team building. They really like team building as well, because again, it's quality time. What you want to avoid is long periods of being apart because that's the opposite of quality time.

  3. Tangible Gifts

    So if somebody's preferred language is tangible gifts, this is something that can easily be implemented. This is somebody that probably enjoys a gift card. A gift card can go a long way. I'll kind of share this, for example, with you. So my husband and I, we actually have our own separate kind of fun accounts, and so we put a certain percentage into our fun accounts, and that's what we get to spend on whatever we want. He doesn't bother me about the excessive shoes that I buy, and I don't bother him about all the truck parts that he buys. My husband has a show truck. So we have these accounts. Now, if somebody gives me a gift card, I'm really going to like it because it doesn't count as a percentage from my income. So it's interesting that you know, gift cards. Some people may be very valuable versus other people may not. They may not care. You know, maybe a card is actually more meaningful to them. A tangible gift can be another one. Flowers can be really special. Maybe a gift card, or if you find out what their favorite book that could be a really fun one or a journal. 

    It doesn't have to be extravagant. It's just something to show them that you appreciate them, that you are thinking of them. You know, one gift is there's this called homesick candles, and if you know that this particular person is from another state and, they always talk about how much they love where they live. I was born and raised in California, and so I actually have this homesick candle that sit on my desk, and it reminds me of home. It's a personalized gift that you see them where you really acknowledge, “I know you. I understand you, and I know that you miss home, and so I brought you the smells that remind you of home.”

  4. Acts of Service 

    So somebody that's acts of service, they are the type of person where if they are feeling overwhelmed, what you could do is you can say, “Hey, how can I support you?” They're typically not one to ask for support because they're always giving. So really, what you get to do is you get to support them by helping them out. Maybe they need a little extra hands with a particular project. Maybe you can swing by their office and go, “Hey, I'm on my way to the trash can. Can I just grab your trash?” or, “Hey, I'm going to go grab some lunch. Can I bring you back something?” Acts of service is just taking the extra step supporting one with a project, especially if they're feeling overwhelmed.

  5. Physical Touch

    Now I know that this can be a very sensitive subject in corporate America, so I'm going to take it a step further. Physical touch could be appropriate, physical touch can be high five. “Hey, great job!” Give them a high five. Obviously, you want to be very mindful, ask them like, “Hey, can I give you a hug?” Ask for permission, but high five, pat, just little touches. A handshake is something that's really going to be valuable to that person. That's appropriate physical touch, also just interacting with them one-on-one. 

    So take the time to get to know your team, get to know a little bit about their past and their experiences, and how did they get to where they're at today, and then take it a step further and understand their core values. Why do they wake up every morning? What's important to them? Incorporate that language into your conversation with them. When you're expressing your appreciation and incorporating their core values into that, take it a step further by truly understanding their languages of appreciation in the workplace and then start communicating that way. Start showing your appreciation that way. 

Again, this is one of the workshops that I do for companies. It's one of my favorite to do because company culture is essential for the success for a company. I truly believe that when you get to foster your relationships with people, you get to connect on a deeper level. That's when people thrive. That's when relationships go beyond just the work and their friendships for a lifetime. 

Transcript

Danielle Cobo

Hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of Dream Job with Danielle Cobo. I'm Danielle Cobo, career and leadership coach, and today I'm sharing with you some of the tools that I incorporate into my workshops to support company culture, because what's essential to company culture is connection, and when people feel valued at work, when people feel connected, that's when culture is faster. So in my workshop, some of the tips that I share is really understanding and kind of giving yourself a vet check as to how well you know your team and what I mean by how well you know your team, how old do you know your team beyond the surface level? What do they do last weekend? Ask yourself. Do you know their spouses name? Do you know their kids name? Do you know what keeps them up at night? Do you know what their vision is in life? What's the one thing they regretted in life? What's the one thing they wish that they could do today or what's the one place they've always wanted to go, but maybe never went, and they're planning on going in the future. What's their favorite childhood memory? When you get to know people, that's when you get to create connection, that's when you get to have relationships with your team. So I invite you, ask yourself, how well do you know your team? Can you answer these questions? When you understand what they enjoy, what their hobbies are, what keeps them up at night, that's when you really get to support your team and the peers that you work with? The next step is understanding what are their core values?

Core values are what's most important to the person, and when you know somebody's core values, that's when you get to know their why. Why do they wake up every morning and do what they do? It's always related to their core values, and so there's exercise. I actually incorporate into a lot of my workshops where it's called the core value exercise. You get, your teams provide if you're doing it virtually, you can have a digital version, or you can also order the physical cards and you can mail it to them. But what I do in these workshops is it's about a grouping of about 50 cards, and you first start with narrowing it down to about 15. Give them time to narrow it down to 15. What are the words and the phrases that speak to you the most? Then have a narrowed it down again. So maybe that's ten, then narrow it down to seven and then narrow it down to five. When you get to those five core values that is what's most important to them. That is their why, when you understand their why, that's when you truly understand the person. So one of a core value, for example, that and what I would say is take this a step further. Here's what I would say so when you are emailing a member of your team or if you're in communication and you're having a conversation with them and you really want to show your appreciation for them, incorporate their core values into your conversation.

Hey, Susie, I really appreciated. How do you approach that situation? Your perseverance is exceptional. If perseverance is important and that's one of their core values incorporated into how you communicate your appreciation for them that what's really going to speak to the heart. That's when they know that you are understanding what's important to them their why, when you can incorporate the words that are associated to their why, that's when you get to really show your appreciation. The other part that I include into my workshop is if you've probably heard it. A book by Gary Chapman is called The Five Languages of Appreciation. He's got the Five Love Languages. So if you're familiar with that, he's got a lot of Finax with that, Gary Chapman. He also has an assessment called The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. So all of us receive appreciation differently, and the Five Love Languages Appreciation in the workplace is words of affirmation, quality time, tangible gifts, access service and physical touch. What I mean physical touch. I mean appropriate physical touch. What you could be doing is, let's say, for example, you're telling this person over and over again how much you appreciate them and what a great job they're doing. But if that's not their preferred language of appreciation and quality time is, they would probably feel valued if you actually spent went to lunch with them, went to dinner with them, spent one on one quality time that may be their preferred language. So I'm going to kind of break them down for you.

The first one is words of Affirmation. So if somebody really leaves with filling value through words of affirmation, then complement them, can incorporate in those core values, find words that are going to support them and show your appreciation. Also, if words of affirmation are somebody takes a step further and writes them a handwritten card to somebody where words of affirmation are important to them, and that's their language of appreciation. They're most likely going to take that card, that handwritten card, and they're most likely going to keep it. They're going to save it. They may have it on their desk, and also if you're sending, it is actually some advice of wedding planner gave me, send it in a colored envelope red, yellow or whatever color you prefer. Because when you receive your mail, the first thing you're going to see is that colored envelope and that's the first one you're going to grab. It's really going to stand out. So a wedding specialist actually share that advice with me, and it really resonated. The other one is you want to avoid criticism for somebody where language of appreciation in the workplace, it words of affirmation. Criticism can really be detrimental to your relationship. So that is just one of them when it comes to language of appreciation.

The next one is quality time. So if someone's preferred language of appreciation is quality time, spend one on one time with them, go to lunch with them, have face to face conversations. They're probably the type of person that's actually going to enjoy having frequent touchpoints throughout the week or one on one calls because they really value that quality time, also team building. They really like team building as well, because, again, it's quality time. What you want to avoid is long periods of being apart, because, again, that's the opposite of quality time.

So the next one is tangible gifts. So if somebody's preferred language is tangible gifts, this is something that can easily be implemented. This is somebody that probably enjoys a gift card. A gift card can go a long way. I'll kind of share this, for example, with you. So my husband and I, we actually have our own separate kind of fun accounts, and so we put a certain percentage into our front accounts, and that's what we get to spend on whatever you want. He doesn't bother me about the excessive shoes that I buy, and I don't bother him about all the truck parts that he buys. My husband has a show truck. So we have these accounts. Now, if somebody gives me a gift card, I'm really going to like it because it doesn't count as a percentage from my income. So it's interesting that you know, gift cards. Some people may be very valuable versus other people may not. They may not care. You know, maybe a card is actually more meaningful to them.

A Tangible gift can be another one. Flowers can be really special. Maybe a gift card or if you find out what their favorite book that could be a really fun one or a Journal, something it doesn't have to be extravagant. It's just something to show them that you appreciate them, that you are thinking of them. You know, one gift is there's this called home stick candles, and if you know that this particular person is from another state and, they always talk about how much they love where they live. I was born and raised in California, and so I actually have this home six candle that sit on my desk, and it reminds me of home. It's a personalized gift that you see them where you really acknowledge. I know you. I understand you, and I know that you miss home, and so I brought you the smells reminds you of home.

The next language of appreciation is acts of service. So somebody that's acts of service, they are the type of person where if they are feeling overwhelmed, what you could do is you can say, hey, how can I support you? They're typically not one to ask for support because they're always giving. So really, what you get to do is you get to support them by helping them out. Maybe they need a little extra hands with a particular project. Maybe it's you swing by their office and go, hey, I'm on my way to the trash can. Can I just grab your trash or, hey, I'm going to go grab some lunch. Can I bring you back something? Apps of service is just taking the extra step supporting one with the project, especially if they're feeling overwhelmed.

The next one is physical touch. Now I know that this can be a very sensitive subject in corporate America, so I'm going to take it a step further. Physical touch could be appropriate physical touch to be high size. Hey, great job. Give them a high five. Obviously, you want to be very mindful if somebody is ask them like, hey, can I give you a hug? Ask for permission, but high five Pat, just little touches. A handshake is something that's really going to be valuable to that person. That's appropriate physical touch, also just interacting with them one on one. So when you take the time to get to know your team, when you get to know a little bit about their past and their experiences, and where do they get to where they're at today and then take it a step further and understand their core values? Why do they wake up every morning? What's important to them? Incorporate that language into your conversation with them. When you're expressing your appreciation, incorporating their core values into that, and to take it a step further, showing your appreciation by truly understanding there are languages of appreciation in the workplace and then start communicating that way. Start showing your appreciation that way. Again, this is one of the workshops that I do for companies. It's one of my favorite to do because company culture is essential for the success for a company. I truly believe that when you get to foster your relationships with people, you get to connect on a deeper level. That's when people thrive. That's when relationships go beyond just the work and their friendships for a lifetime. So if you have an organization where you would like to incorporate this workshop, I invite you to reach out to me and I'd love to hear from you guys. What was it that really resonated from you from this episode and share it? Share this episode with friends and family because everybody out there wants to feel appreciated, and it's just a matter of knowing how to show your appreciation to the loved ones that are in our lives and the co-workers that are in our lives. So thank you so much for joining me today. Write a review, comment, direct Message me if there's any topics that you want to hear in future episodes and thank you so much for joining and create an intentional day.

 

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