Several months ago I was privileged to speak to all the leaders of the Oklahoma University Medical Systems in Oklahoma City. Jed Liuzza, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at OUMS, recently sent me a copy of an email he shared with the leaders about a special way to appreciate one another:
Good afternoon everyone!
It’s a beautiful day and the sun is shining which reminded me about how we might bring some sunshine into the lives of our team.
We all know there’s always something happening here at OUMS…like saving lives…and we have a great team of individuals who are committed to doing that each and every day. It’s never too late to express how much you appreciate your team or individuals on your team. In fact, as leaders, we should practice showing appreciation every day.
So to help you, I thought I’d share an idea from Barbara Glanz’s book, “180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm.” I hope you have found it helpful with so many great ideas on showing appreciation.
The idea I selected was one that spreads appreciation among all of your team members. The idea, as stated in the book, says, “Post a large poster page next to everyone’s office or cubicle door for a week. Ask other employees during the week to stop by and write something they appreciate about that person.”
Now for those of you already saying this won’t work because most or all of your employees don’t have an office or cubicle, I’d like to suggest that maybe you use your employee break room. For those of you with a very large number of employees, maybe do several employees a week over a period of time or group the posters by types of employees (i.e., administrative, clinical, support).
Let your team decide what the poster would look like – let them get creative!
Have a wonderful day everyone and know we appreciate the work you do for your teams and our patients!
Jed
It is so precious to me to see a client taking an idea and making it happen in their workplaces. Every one of us needs more appreciation, and this idea will work anywhere. If Jed and OUMS can do it, so can you and your team!
Another friend shared this photo with me from Illinois Toolworks. People are finding many creative ways to appreciate one another.
Another way to appreciate one another!
For more creative ideas on how to make your workplace more caring, creative, appreciative, and fun, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/ideas
