Human eyes are drawn to mistakes.

Whether it is as simple as not washing your own dishes in the office or as complicated as ruining a whole project operation.

However, when someone does a good or even an extraordinary job, we often forget to acknowledge their work.

While insincere compliments can become a double-edged sword in a business setting, under-acknowledgement can bring disastrous impacts as well, such as low employee satisfaction, low productivity, and unhealthy tension between co-workers.

As leaders, colleagues and staff members, we all need a morale booster once in a while to know that we have done our work right. Here are some simple tips to practice acknowledgement in the workplace:

1.    Show you’ve paid attention

No one likes being ignored. A simple comment like, “I understand how you feel,” to a colleague who has been mistreated shows that you listen and respect him.

2.    Change ‘you’ and ‘I’ to ‘we

Instead of saying, “So what will you do about the situation?” try offering some help by asking, “Is there anything we can do to improve this?”

3.    Offer positive feedback generously

Telling your staff, “Thank you”, “Good job”, “Great idea”, and “Nice one” can boost their working mood exponentially.

4.    Use body language when giving acknowledgement

Saying “Good job” to someone while typing frantically on your laptop does not help. The other party needs to see that you really mean what you say. When offering a compliment, look into their eyes, clap, give a firm handshake or smile.

5.    Celebrate every success

No matter how small it is, from getting a foot in the client’s door to signing a not-so-important contract, they are still achievements in their own ways.

This article is modified from the Institute of Management training module: Motivating Employees. For more information about the course, please visit our website.

Are you frustrated of always doing things at work and yet getting no results? We all have been there – the late nights to finish our deadlines only to find out that it is going down the rubbish bin the next day.

Have you ever thought of doing things differently?

In our previous article, we talked about the importance of focusing on the end results. Today, we are going to share with you the secret on how to actually achieve them.

Hint: it’s all in the mind.

All businesses are made to succeed. We want our projects to actually accomplish something – whether it is a new client, profit, expansion, promotion, or positive branding.

It’s no secret that to actually achieve real results, we need to have the right mindset in approaching our work. But let’s break down the meaning of this statement.

Why the right mindset determines the results

Let’s start from the desired end product: real results.

To actually have results, we need to do real things and get our hands dirty. The proposals will not be made if you just stare blankly at Microsoft Word. The contracts will not get signed if you do not visit your client’s office and explain your services.

To have results, you need to have  actions.

And everyone will vouch that our feelings determine our actions.

Consider waking up on  the wrong side of the bed this morning. With less than four hours  sleep, you order coffee from your local Starbucks and it turns out the lid is not secured  properly and it spills. Will you be excited about  a meeting twenty minutes away with an obnoxious client who asks for discounts and yet changes his request every other day?

For every action that we take, emotions play a big role.

And guess what controls emotions? Thoughts.

Let’s say you wake up on  the wrong side of the bed this morning but you are eager to start the day anyway, knowing that you have a breakthrough meeting to attend. You spill your coffee but you crack a joke and somehow it makes other people laugh. The barista might even offer to make you another one. Going to the meeting, you feel that there’s a real opportunity to help this client, although all your colleagues have given up on him.

Our emotions are driven by our mindset.

We might face the same situation. However, different thinking yields a  different emotional state and hence a different action. It is natural that different results will follow.

And that’s how to do things differently, as having the right mindset matters in achieving real results.

This article is modified from the Institute of Management training module: Ensure Team Effectiveness. For more information about the course, please visit our website.