Forever Recognize Others' Greatness

Sarah Mcvanel, Brenda Zalter-Minden

Description

According to countless engagement surveys and polls, the majority of employees today want to feel more valued and to contribute in more meaningful ways.

The results of disengagement are devastating: Top talent is considering or acting on their exit plan. Employees who remain are blocked from giving their talents, passions, and virtues to their workplace. Organizations are failing to satisfy their customers and are missing opportunities to innovate and keep their business viable.

It doesn't have to be this way. In this book, based on their new recognition approach, FROG™ – Forever Recognize Others' Greatness – Sarah McVanel and Brenda Zalter-Minden show what happens when leaders and employees pay close attention to the essential greatness within themselves and one another:

- Employees, no matter what their skill set and across every industry, are motivated to leverage their skills and passion
- Teams flourish
- Top talent is retained
- And the mission of the organization is achieved

Using numerous examples of success from their consulting work, the authors call for a revolutionary approach to recognition that:

- Is solution-focused, affirming what is already working for each and every person rather than emphasizing failures and problems
- Imagines best possible scenarios for individuals, teams, and organizations
- Sets a strengths-based plan for individuals, with clear next steps
- Becomes a continuous process in which everyone contributes to the humanity of their workplace one positive intent at a time

Sujets

• Leadership
• Self-help
• Self-esteem
• Personal development

Informations

• Publié par: BPS Books
• Date de parution: 15 décembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781772360271
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

FOREVER
RECOGNIZE
OTHERS’
FOREVER RECOGNIZE OTHERS’


Solution-Focused Strategies for Satisfied Staff, High-Performing Teams, and Healthy Bottom Lines
Sarah McVanel and Brenda Zalter-Minden

Toronto and New York www.bpsbooks.com
Copyright © 2015 by Sarah McVanel and Brenda Zalter-Minden
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in 2015 by BPS Books Toronto and New York www.bpsbooks.com A division of Bastian Publishing Services Ltd.
ISBN 978-1-77236-025-7 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-77236-026-4 (ePDF) ISBN 978-1- 77236-027-1 (ePUB)
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data available from Library and Archives Canada.
F.R.O.G. FOREVER RECOGNIZE OTHERS’ GREATNESS and FROG Design are trademarks of Brenda Zalter-Minden.
Cover and text design: Daniel Crack, Kinetics Design, www.kdbooks.ca
To my children, Simonne (ten) and Justin (twelve), and husband, Mark (of seventeen years), three of the greatest teachers on the diversity of greatness and how it can be found at any age and in the simplest of moments.
-SARAH McVANEL

To one of my many mentors, Steve de Shazer,
who always knew I had a story to share and a book inside me.
You have continued to inspire me from heaven.
I know that, in your minimalist way, you are
simply smiling and giving me the thumbs-up.
-BRENDA ZALTER-MINDEN
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
One – The Power of Finding Solutions vs. Solving Problems
Two – Find Greatness Everywhere
Three – Start with Yourself: How to Free Your Inner FROG
Four – Enable Greatness with Healthy Team Ecosystems
Five – Think FROG on a Big Scale: How to Optimize Organizational Recognition
Six – Manage Change with Resiliency: A FROG for Every Season
Seven – LeapFROG Your Way Through Roadblocks
Conclusion
Appendix A – 80+ Ways to Recognize Greatness
Appendix B – FAQs
Appendix C – Metrics@Work
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Sarah McVanel:
Mark, Justin, and Simonne, you have been my greatest teachers. Thank you for always reminding me that greatness is fluid, powerful, and purposeful. I can’t tell you how much your wholehearted support of my dreams has meant to me. This book would not have been possible without it.
Warm thanks to my parents, who have always had faith in me that I would do great things, no matter what I set my mind to, and for seeing my youthful mistakes as opportunities for me to learn.
Thanks to my sister, Darcey, for journeying with me through childhood and showing me strength of character and mind from an incredibly young age, planting the seed in me that even very young children provide windows to the amazing creatures they will become.
My gratitude, as well, to: those who have taken a chance on me, giving me opportunities in my schooling and work to grow into my potential and beyond my knowledge threshold; Paul, for helping me learn the world of publishing and believing in me from just a simple conversation; Mark and John, for your analysis and interpretation of the data used in this book; Pamela and Kim, for mentorship; and Denise, Sandeep, and Don, for countless hours of editing and sharing ideas about how to make the book better.
Finally, Brenda, I could not have written this book without you. You are my anchor, teacher, mentor, friend, and cheerleader all in one. You live abundance of greatness in its humblest form.
Brenda Zalter-Minden:
Heartfelt thanks to my four adult children and their significant others, who have gifted me with courage (Brittany), playfulness (Jonathan), perseverance (Eric), and acceptance (Jay). You all provide a constant source of pride and love in my life. Your daily support allows me to live truly into Forever Recognizing Others’ Greatness.
I would also like to thank:
My husband, Gary, for his love, encouragement, and understanding; keeping me on track with his fastidious editing skills; ensuring that I maintain my writing schedule wherever our travels take us; and daily reminders that I am talented and beautiful.
My mom, Sheila, and dad, Leonard, who instilled positive core values that I cherish to this day. In their own unique ways they have always displayed confidence in me to be my best.
The York Centre, for their inspiration; their commitment to work with one another and to serve their clients by adopting the solution-focused philosophy and FROG approach has shifted their culture to recognize their own and others’ greatness every day.
The many other organizations, teams, and colleagues I have worked with who have taught me something new every day about the power of FROG and the ripple effect it has on shaping the culture of their people.
Thorana Nelson, for volunteering solution-focused editorial experience and keeping me fuelled.
My dear friend Dr. Heather Fiske, whose creativity helped shape many of the exercises in this book and who continually showers me with love and praise. Her mentorship and guidance are a beacon I always aspire to.
My other friends, for being in my life, from shopping for frogs when the dollar stores were selling out of them to supporting me with encouragement when I didn’t think I could do it.
Esther, a bright and dedicated labour and delivery nurse, for coming up with the acronym FROG, which has shaped the way I live and work.
Lastly, my friend and co-author Sarah McVanel. Without you, I would have long given up putting pen to paper. Meeting you has been a blessing. You have allowed me to truly evolve into the person I am today.
Introduction
Acknowledging the Importance of Recognition

We have written this book to help you explore challenges you may be experiencing, particularly in a work setting, and find viable solutions to make your own and others’ work experiences better. We do this through a powerful approach we call FROG™ – Forever Recognize Others’ Greatness – demonstrating through evidence and real-life examples how recognition, perhaps better than any other tool, unlocks potential and reinvigorates, motivates, and engages individuals.
How important is recognition in organizational life? Here’s an illustration.
It was exactly a year ago when Brenda and her husband decided to take a vacation to visit a dear friend. As Brenda tells the story:
We were travelling the magnificent Cabot Trail, staying at a well-known, picturesque hotel.
One night we chose a small restaurant on the premises for dinner. When we entered, a live country music band was playing, and the place was packed. To get a seat, we had no choice but to join others at their table.
Everyone was extremely joyful and seemed to know one another. I quickly learned they all worked for an insurance brokerage, MacLeod Lorway Insurance, and this was one of their semi-annual recognition weekends away. Because they have nine offices across Nova Scotia, they choose the same beautiful and convenient location each time and ensure that all employees are invited with their families. An employee who was single was encouraged to invite some girlfriends to join her for a girls’ weekend away. Games are organized, activities are planned, meals are covered, and hospitality rooms set up for those who prefer to relax and unwind. “There are no seminars or training sessions,” one employee told me proudly. “The weekend is about us and spending quality time with our loved ones.”
I also learned employees are given their birthday off. On the annual Family Day holiday, the company organizes events for employees and their families. They have been doing this since the province of Ontario instituted the day as a statutory holiday even though the province of Nova Scotia only did so in 2015. The company felt it was too long for the employees to wait for a day off between Christmas and Easter. Perhaps not surprisingly, it has no difficulty retaining employees. In fact, there are rarely any job openings: when people retire or relocate, they tell their friends, and the jobs are filled instantly with the best people.
I was so excited by how well this company handled recognition, I sought out the person responsible. Interestingly, no one was willing to accept the credit, as they recognized one another's greatness naturally. After probing further, I was told, “The COO, Louise King, has been here for forty-two years; you should speak with her.”
But Louise said, “You shouldn’t be speaking with me. It’s the owner and founder of the company, our CEO, Stuart MacLeod, who makes all this happen.”
And then Stuart said it was because he had the best people working for him that the company was as great as it was. I demanded to know his secret. He finally relented and said, “When I started this company, I realized that the method to success was quite simple. If you take care of your people, they’ll take care of you.” He added, “If you recognize the right things, then you don’t have to make a fuss about things like long service awards because people want to stay.”
Our book shares the successes of organizations large and small that already excel at recognition. We want to help you take the steps to improve your own organization in this way, one conversation and one event at a time.