I have a friend who was the longtime pastor of Woodstock Baptist Church, in Woodstock Georgia. Johnny Hunt told me years ago that his spiritual gift was “exhortation”. As a new believer, I really didn’t know that meant he was an encourager. He felt his calling was to lift people up. I think we can all agree we need some people like this in our lives. The fifth pillar of our pillars of culture is:
TO ENCOURAGE. Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Inc. said, “Encouragement is one of the strategies that you can use to help your organization to stop people leaving, and then to keep them. The presence of encouragement and appreciation in the workplace has a demonstrably positive impact - and its absence can be as damaging as direct discouragement”.
Let’s look at a few great reasons to become professional encourages:
People want to feel important - Encouragement unlocks others' greatness. From time to time, we all need to be reminded how valuable we are, how much we have to offer, and that, if we keep doing that bit extra, we'll achieve the goal - and more.
Encouragement reinforces the right things - Encouragement solidifies and reinforces that "doing the right thing" - especially in difficult situations - is what matters most. Encouragement inspires people in tough times - Everyone gets disheartened from time to time - especially during times of change. At such times, encouragement can dissolve fear and anxiety. Encouragement builds employee loyalty - Encouragement demonstrates caring and, as people believe you care about them, they'll trust more and become more loyal to your leadership and to the organization. Encouragement is a low-cost benefit to workers with maximum results - It costs nothing to share a few uplifting words, ideas or insights, but the potential rewards are enormous. To this list, you could add that encouragement can help new workers to fit in. Being new to an organization or a team tends to be an anxious time for the worker - and, maybe, the rest of the team. Encouragement during on-boarding orientation or training can boost confidence. It can also allow team members to express concerns and ask questions - and this can help them to fit into the new team quicker and build strong bonds of loyalty. In this way, a few encouraging words can keep a worker motivated, loyal, committed, engaged, and save the considerable cost of having to recruit, select and train a replacement.
Benefits are always a source of concern for team members. So, let’s add a new benefit to our package. Be an encourager!! Let’s be the company that everyone wants to work for an no one wants to leave!
Have a great weekend!
dan