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Viewing Posts by Judy Umlas
You Are What You Acknowledge!
| Almost everyone knows the saying, "You are what you eat." But Michael E. Case, president and CEO of The Westervelt Co., a land resource organization, put a new twist on it by saying, "You are what you acknowledge." In order to see something great in another, you have to have some experience with that quality or talent yourself. To admire and praise a team member's dedication and value as a human being to your team, you have to know on some level what it is to feel valued and to make a contribution to a team. When project team members show they respect and appreciate fellow team members' commitment, integrity, openness, positive attitude, expertise, knowledge sharing and listening, that's what becomes the team's--and even the organization's--core values. When these core values are brought to light, team members listen, they don't tolerate serving their customers poorly and they have a high sense of integrity. They become what they acknowledge. Leaders must set the example in order to have others emulate it and make it positively "rampant" in an organization. And by the definition of former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Chase, William Harrison, Jr., everyone can do this. He dramatically stated, "Be a leader. We want everybody to be a leader...to be a leader you have to have a view, be willing to constructively express it, and use it to make something better. Under that definition, everybody can be a leader." Everyone, then, not only can be, but IS a leader. Everyone, then, can demonstrate that ability to make something better. Team leaders who focus on and make it their honor and their duty to exemplify the power of acknowledgment achieve great results. Those of us who are acknowledged find it much easier to acknowledge others. Acknowledgments truly transform both the giver and the receiver on a project team. They engender employee loyalty and engagement, improve relationships and enhance self-worth. These positive results are contagious, and the actions of each team member are amplified as the recipient picks up on this idea and spreads the circle wider. Like pebbles in a pond, the ripples radiate farther and farther out. You are indeed what you acknowledge! Why wait to start practicing this--as a leader, do it now and reap the rewards! |
Acknowledgment Isn't Just for Teams
| I always have plenty to say about acknowledgment, but in this post, I'm going to let you draw your own conclusions from portions of a letter I received from W. Pond, PMP. During my session on acknowledgment at the PMI® Global Congress 2009--North America, Mr. Pond says he found his mind turning to his first mentor, Tom: "The two of us met in the hospital; patients with similar diagnoses. Tom would complete treatments two weeks prior to me. As a result he would prepare me for what to expect and the lessons he learned to make things more bearable for myself. [We stayed connected during our recovery] and found ourselves taking many walks together and when one or both of us was too tired we would sit [and talk in] front of the fire. Tom later offered me a position with his [telecommunications company]. He [taught] me more about business, management, operations and ethics than any university. I have been in so much debt to him and my personal appreciation was given in a conversation where only a verbal thank you was provided. During the session, as suggested, I drafted a letter of acknowledgment to my mentor: Dear Tom: Death comes to all of us faster than we all expect, as we both know. You and I have been through more than we would like. I wanted to thank you for all that you have done for me. You sacrificed so much even in your time of need. You embraced and assisted me despite your own family and financial responsibilities. I need you to know that all of my professional and personal successes can be attributed to your influence. Memories of our walks and conversations by the fire about life and the meaning of being a man will always be treasured. You were twice my age and my best friend. Thank you for listening and providing comfort even in your own pain and anxiety. Thank you for hiring me and giving me the chance to find my own niche. This has been so long in coming. I apologize for not sharing my utmost appreciation years ago. Now, as I hold my wife, I recognize the things she loves in me were given to me by you. You have given so much of yourself without asking for anything in return. For these things, I wanted to thank you. For these reasons, I love you. It took a while to find Tom. We had a phone conversation discussing our lives since the hospital. I sent my letter acknowledging his role in my life. Since that time I have felt a closeness to Tom once again. Sending this out has provided me a clear conscience and a renewed friendship. While I continue in my role as a project manager, husband and father, I hope to acknowledge those in my life in a timely manner. If you're wondering whether or not to acknowledge someone, take it from me, do it. Do it now, today." Thank you Mr. Pond for being a demonstration of the living, breathing power of acknowledgment. You moved everyone in our session deeply with your story--leaving many of us in tears. You cannot begin to know how far the ripples of your story will be felt and acted upon. |
The Power of Prevention
| I received an intriguing question at a recent webinar I led: "How does Six Sigma training address or include the concept of acknowledgment?" That question was actually a new one for me! So I turned to my colleague, Anne Foley, director of Six Sigma for International Institute of Learning Inc. Apart from the usual reasons why you need to acknowledge a team member, I asked what role she sees acknowledgment playing in Six Sigma training? She said the training discusses the kind of culture you establish if you only acknowledge those who put fires out, without acknowledging those who actually prevent the fires. "Fire prevention is critically important to business success but often goes without notice. If you want to change the culture, you must change the way you acknowledge, celebrate and reward employees by honoring those who prevent fires as much (if not more) than those who put them out." Anne talked about how one of her green belt students discovered his company had a defective inventory management count. Finances showed the company had spent a certain dollar amount on inventory--and that did not match the amount of inventory in the system, which did not match the physical count. He investigated and found that the inventory-entry process was broken, which could have left the company without critical inventory to run its business had the problem not been discovered. He found it, fixed it and his boss was so happy he wrote it up in an internal company newsletter and gave his employee a whole week off--with pay. At several companies where Anne has conducted training, managers are trying so hard to acknowledge and encourage fire prevention that they actually run competitions among those who prevent errors--and the awards are big--from free dinners to stock options. Sincere and heartfelt acknowledgment always makes a profound difference to people. But did you know it also prevents fires? What an awesome tool! So thanks to the student who brought this question to my attention. I learned something important and hope you did, too! |
Stop Being So Humble!
Categories:
Career Development
Categories: Career Development
| I had the honor of presenting on the power of acknowledgement at PMI Global Congress 2009--North America in Orlando, Florida, USA last week. Whether it was a long presentation or a booth demo, people told me they were inspired into action. I got into a deep conversation on acknowledgement with Efrain Pacheco, a senior project manager at the U.S. Department of Justice and assistant vice president of the Chapter-to-Chapter Outreach Program for the PMI Washington, D.C. chapter. Efrain shared something poignant. He told me he's humble by nature and this is the way he was brought up in Ecuador. And as a result, he has difficulty accepting acknowledgements. At the Executive Office for Immigration Review where he worked as project manager for the information systems and IT support, for example, Efrain was given an award for turning around project. It was given to him in from of his whole office. So he smiled, but he told me he couldn't say anything or even let himself feel anything because he felt so strongly that his entire team should have received the award. Efrain's story brings up two important issues: the need to accept acknowledgments with grace and appreciation, and the positive value of wanting to share the glory with one's team members. I am going to focus on the first now and address the other in a future post. Here's the deal, folks. When we don't accept an acknowledgment graciously, it's as if that person gave you a gift, and you said, "No thanks. I don't want or need that. I don't even like it." That's what an acknowledger is left with when the acknowledgee says, "Oh, it was nothing" or "It was no big deal." Or as in Efrain's case, when he just smiled but didn't express his appreciation and allow himself to feel the joy that comes naturally with being acknowledged. He just couldn't let it in. Instead, he kept a wall around himself. When I told him he was rejecting a gift, he was shocked. He had never thought of it that way. He is now committed to working on accepting the precious gifts of acknowledgment. Remember,
someone who acknowledges another in a heartfelt and authentic way is making
himself or herself vulnerable. They are trusting that the person will fully
receive their gift. Don't disappoint them. |
Start With Acknowledging Yourself
| After my last post, I received a thoughtful e-mail from a project manager in Barcelona, Spain. Because she was constantly criticized growing up, she said she had difficulty acknowledging others. One's ability to acknowledge is an interesting and important topic. Although it focuses on our personal issues regarding whether or not we were acknowledged in our families, our schools and in our early jobs, we are all people first and project managers second. Therefore I would like to address the heartfelt question that was raised, as it has importance for all of us. A person's ability to acknowledge others freely, generously and sincerely is linked to the way we're raised. If we were encouraged and praised as children, we're likely to grow up with a deep sense of self-worth and confidence. If we were constantly criticized, we have more work to do to gain a sense of self-worth. We have to become our own support system, which can be hard. And it's even harder to acknowledge others when we've feel like we have not been acknowledged for who we are and the contributions we make. If that's true for you, then you will have to push yourself more to deliver acknowledgments that may come to mind but that you may have trouble carrying out. We as human beings crave acknowledgment. Receiving acknowledgements releases a chemical called dopamine in our brains that makes us feel good, perform better and work harder to get more of what's called "the dopamine drench," per an article titled "In Praise of Praising Your Employees" published in the Gallup Management Journal. So here's my advice if you were underacknowledged in your earlier life: Start by taking stock of who you are and what your contribution is to your workplace, your family and to the world. Then you can exercise the muscle on the underside of your right arm, as you reach up and over to give yourself a pat on the back! In my courses, we always start by telling each other something special and unique about ourselves. I invite all of you to do just that--share something special about yourself with a friend or coworker--and send me an e-mail telling me about it. With your permission, I might even post it. |