..You can observe a lot just by watching.

While at first this sounds like a redundant statement, this Yogi Berra quote ends up resonating with the second point I want to make about how individuals can influence the advancement of Connective Era leadership strategies. Just as I imagine my needle joining together a diverse set of components in order to produce results, connective leaders recognize that they don’t have all of the answers. They must, as Max DePree suggests, “endorse a concept of persons” and rely on a diversity of people’s talents, gifts, and skills. The first responsibility of a leader, DePree says, is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. (9) This posting focuses on the thank you—an action that requires watching in order to observe those moments that deserve recognition and reinforcing.

One of the frustrations of today’s leaders is that followers aren’t accountable. They are happy with as little responsibility as possible. Intuitively my values lead me to believe otherwise--that people want to do to good and want to be responsible for a part of some purpose that is bigger and more important than them alone. Even if I am not positioned at the top of the organization, I can use the tools at my disposal to help build a more enlightened workforce that is then likely to arouse trust from the current leadership and carry on the tradition of effective leadership. A survey of the literature affirms the powerful, reinforcing, and trust-inspiring benefits of saying thank you.

The Encarta World English Dictionary defines grace as “dignified, polite and decent behavior”. Building on that definition, Erik de Nijs proposes the GRACE acronym for work. He says that in today’s world, vital leadership is one based on powerful, purposeful, and productive relationships of trust and transparency between leaders and followers. His GRACE model includes five key components: goodwill, results, authenticity, connectivity, and empowerment. Goodwill assumes positive intent, and results include both the reason and the result. Authenticity means being honest, while connectivity refers to finding ways to identify with, affirm, and encourage the other person. Empowerment is about helping others succeed. While de Nijs believes it takes all five components to succeed, his definition of connectivity is most closely aligned with the mandate to say thank you. It requires empathy towards the other person, understanding what is important to them, and communicating a genuine desire to relate to them. The lesson here is to get to know your constituents so that when it comes time to recognize them you can reward them with something that is truly meaningful to them.

Tom Gegax takes a similar approach to building an enlightened workforce. He believes that people will look forward to coming to work when they believe that their work contributes directly to the team’s success. Employees, he says, are like plants that must be rooted in a nurturing environment in order to bloom and thrive. His multi-point plan for cultivating this environment includes handing out “all-access passes” so that constituents know that you are available when they need you. He says that attention spent on employee concerns is reciprocated with appreciation that shows up in the simple metrics of productivity and turnover. His experience proves that thank you’s can flow both up and down the organization.

Noelle Nelson reminds us that the number one reason people leave their jobs is lack of appreciation. “People quit first because they don’t feel appreciated.” The dictionary prompts us with three definitions for appreciation: “the recognition of the good qualities of someone or something”, “a full understanding of a situation”, and “an increase in monetary value”. Saying thank you encompasses all three meanings. Nelson proposes five ways to appreciate. The first is to adopt an appreciative focus in which you actively search for value or worth in every person. The second is to problem-solve with appreciation soliciting input and advice from employees. The third strategy is to catch employees in the act of doing something right. The fourth is to create a culture of appreciation by collecting stories of work done well. The fifth is to lead by example.

My company pushes the idea of engaging employees, and a major component of that initiative is the reward program. I am sometimes annoyed by the monthly email from HR asking me to recount my previous month’s recognition and reward activities because often times it feels like I’m simply contributing to another metric. On the other hand, I must admit that I appreciate the regular reminder. As a middle manager, I need to be held accountable for increasing the value of my team by regularly immersing them in praise for their contributions to organizational goals. I represent management to my team, and as a result I am in a unique position. I can observe a lot by watching, and by watching I can recognize and reward those behaviors that will lead to increased follower accountability. Increased follower accountability increases leader appreciation increases follower accountability increases leader appreciation and so forth. Most important, thoughtful observers and watchers will notice that trust is building and growing with each cycle of feedback.

References
Depree, Max. (1989). Leadership is an Art New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group

“GRACE at Work”
Eric de Nijs. T + D. Alexandria:Mar 2006. Vol. 60, Iss. 3, p. 47-49,6 (4 pp.)

“Relationship Management: Create An Enlightened Work Environment And Reap The Rewards From Your Employees”
Tom Gegax, Don Grimme. Business Credit. New York:Apr 2006. Vol. 108, Iss. 4, p. 65-67 (3 pp.)

“Culture of Appreciation”
Noelle Nelson. Leadership Excellence. Provo:Aug 2006. Vol. 23, Iss. 8, p. 11-12 (2 pp.)

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