How to encourage others at work without undermining your success
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“You’re doing a great job; keep it up!”
I found that message in Teams when I logged into work last week. My up-level (sort of mid-level management) took time out of his day to tell me that I was doing a good job. This was very humbling – I know there is a lot more I can do for my job. His comment makes me want to try harder and do better for my students.
The Real World
❓ Ever feel like work success comes at a price?
Like if someone else “wins” time and resources, then you lose? If so, you’re not alone.
When we think of work we don’t often think of encouragement. Much like with siblings, colleague relationships are often filled with competition for resources and time.
We compete to be the one who the boss favors with time (and money!). Everyone wants to stand out at work. We want our efforts to be rewarded in some way and we tend to view that as a win-lose prospect: we get the reward and someone else doesn’t.
Encouragement Leads to Success
However, encouraging our colleagues can go a long way toward business success. Forbes magazine talks about work encouragement. They say that these behaviors allow us to encourage our colleagues without jeopardizing our own position and success trajectory:
- share knowledge
- help someone with a task
- share resources
- tell about opportunities
- introduce them to helpful people in your network
- acknowledge their hard work in public
This list shows us non-competitive ways to show we care about our fellow workers.
Basic Kindness Helps
As in all relationships, a kind word and gratitude go a long way.
Has your colleague been missing some work? Just check in with a text*.
Maybe bring a cup of coffee for your officemate on a Monday.
Even a “drive-by” comment as you walk past their door, something like, “Hey Boyd, loved the reminders in the email this morning!” will help to lift someone’s day without hurting your success (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Most of us have enough to do at work, so I’ll try to keep work suggestions simple and easy. This one is great to start today!
What kind word can you share with a colleague today? Tell us in the chat
* Be careful about cross-sex encouragement. A well-meaning text or caring inquiry can easily be misinterpreted as romantic or sexual interest. Be very careful – keep your words and nonverbals from being flirty if you are married.
Resources
John C. Maxwell is one of my very favorite business communication and leadership authors. Anything by him is a go-to in my opinion!
Encouragement changes everything
I haven’t read this one but it looks interesting!
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I hope you find these suggestions helpful.
🌸 Andrea
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I am an author, speaker, and communication professor. My specialty is teaching people how to have successful, faith-based relationships. My passion is to teach people how to live out Scripture in healthy relationships, especially at home. I've been married for 29 years and have two boys - ages 19 and 15. I love to bake to show my love, so you'll sometimes see favorite recipes!
We review celebrations in our team huddle twice a week which is a fun and easy way to acknowledge the success of colleagues in front of management!
That’s a great idea! What an encouraging way to support your team. Thanks for commenting!