Daily Appreciation Makes the Difference

Do you know the difference between getting recognized at work and being appreciated? According to Certified Executive Coach, Rick Malloch, of Avidity Coaching & Leadership Excellence, although it’s important to recognize when someone does a good job, if you can learn to appreciate everyone on a daily basis, employee satisfaction, engagement and retention will increase even more.

This was one of the strategies Malloch shared at the MPI Ottawa Chapter workshop held on November 5 at the Brookstreet Hotel. Organized by Desmond Lomas, CMP, Disa-marie Cameron, Nancy Bradshaw, CMP and Denisa Horak, this event attracted 44 registrants for a half-day of outstanding professional development.

Called “Creating a High-Performance Meetings and Events Team”, this session delivered on its promised to teach participants how to understand leadership styles and ways to “flex” their approach to better leverage diversity among their teams and customers. Formerly with The Westin Ottawa, Malloch was able to relate his lessons to the meetings industry, pertaining not only to suppliers, but planners, managers and workers at all levels. He said that building relationships is critical whether they are with coworkers, suppliers, sponsors or volunteers. Everyone can be a leader and influence others every day.

In the morning, attendees completed a questionnaire that helped them identify which of the four behaviour types they best represent: analytical, driver, amiable or expressive. It turns out that meeting professionals are often “expressives”, meaning they are energetic, inspiring and emotional. They are risk takers, competitive, creative and enthusiastic. There were a few “analyticals” who are technically oriented, fact-loving, problem-solvers. The room had four “amiables” who place a high priority on getting along and can communicate trust and confidence in others. The least represented type was “drivers” who are results-oriented, direct and to the point, controlling and efficient.

 

Malloch explained that when under stress, each type will resort to an exaggerated version or a “back-up” style that can sometimes damage relationships. Expressives will attack or become defensive; analyticals use avoidance and delay decision-making; amiables back down and acquiesce; while drivers can become autocratic. He advised learning to recognize your own style and that of others to help build solid connections and strong teams with a range of styles.

At noon, MPI Ottawa President Allison Collins, addressed the group and encouraged members to complete the post-event survey which earns the Chapter points. She announced that last week, we received a top performing chapter award for achieving our global metrics!

Before lunch was served, Ryan Young, Director of Sales at the venue partner introduced the Brookstreet’s menu—each course was chosen to reflect one of the styles we learned about that morning: carrot and caraway soup was the taking-care-of-business driver; spicy Thai glazed chicken was the amiable main course; and triple chocolate mousse was the expressive sweet dessert to energize us. He joked that “the analytical style didn’t make it on the menu because it was missing data”.

 

Taking a liking to the throwable audience microphone provided by audiovisual sponsor FMAV, Malloch held it while continuing his presentation during lunch. Focusing on performance evaluations and how to coach others to improve, he said that having job skills should count for only 25% of a person’s review. Customer relations, being a team player and having a growth mindset are each one quarter of the equation. Being willing to give and receive pointers will create a culture of feedback that focuses on future progress rather than on what went wrong.

He explained that people have incredible value, even if they aren’t perfect. It’s best to let others take risks and make mistakes, rather than remove their autonomy and confidence by taking control.

The main takeaway of this workshop was that appreciation is the key to a productive workplace; learn to express your gratitude for what others bring to the table every day, which will make them more passionate about coming to work.

Speaking of appreciation, other sponsors of this event that deserve mention are registration partner D.E. Systems and My Conference Suite, and the annual media sponsor, Ignite magazine.

Article written by Melanie Hudson, National Association of Federal Retirees

Article edited by Darlene Kelly-Stewart, Stonehouse Sales & Marketing Services