Cultivate Team Morale: Three Strategies to Acknowledge Your Team

Acknowledgment holds immense significance, as numerous research studies emphasize that a lack of recognition at the workplace is a key factor leading employees to depart from a company. The act of showing appreciation has a profound impact on people’s well-being. If we aim to elevate our employees’ satisfaction with their work environment, it is imperative to convey our appreciation for their contributions.

Walter Burke Barbe introduced the VAK model for learning, a valuable framework that aids in understanding how individuals process information, a crucial aspect of effective communication. The model categorizes people into visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners.

The VAK model serves as a reminder that people process information in diverse ways, and since recognition is essentially a form of information, we must recognize that individuals will process it differently.

Some individuals prefer hearing words of appreciation, while others value visual recognition that can be shared with others. Some need to physically experience recognition by tasting, touching, or taking tangible actions in response.

The responsibility of leaders is to establish connections and discern how each individual prefers to receive information, which aligns with how they wish to be recognized.

For those inclined towards visual processing, consider sending emails, handwritten notes of appreciation, or displaying accolades on a bulletin board for everyone to see.

For individuals who process information auditorily, express recognition verbally in meetings, daily huddles, or in the presence of their peers.

For those with a kinesthetic processing preference, acknowledge their efforts by taking them to lunch, assigning them a more significant role or task, or actively participating in operations alongside them.

Here are three strategies to convey to your team that you appreciate and recognize them:

-Acknowledge their talent
-Recognize their effort
-Appreciate their uniqueness

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