I went to see Depeche Mode this past summer, not my favourite band but I completely appreciate their longevity and talent…and firmly believe that Personal Jesus is a forever song that will appeal to generations. At the close of the concert they did an encore, and it got me thinking. Do regular folks get called for encores?
Have you ever been cheered on and applauded to the point where you had to return – to a job, a room or a moment? You couldn’t ignore it any longer and had to give the crowd what they wanted? I have been asked back to companies, and recruited, which can be comparable to an encore in certain circumstances. I guess, maybe, but there was no cheering. What if we gave encores in our work place? What if we cheered people who did good things or good work? I mean out loud cheered them, public recognition – standing in your cubicles clapping. Take for example when my friend’s son, 5 years old, recently asked me “how old are you?” I said 42 and he clapped, like a golf clap for about 20 seconds. And you know what? I felt great, I smiled and I felt great in that moment. When was the last time you felt great when you told someone your age?
I am an introvert and cheering is usually something I avoid, but that doesn’t mean I don’t translate it to mean good things. I’m not sure if he was clapping because I was 42, like I’d made it in some way or just because I was 42 and he thought that was good. The end result was the same, if his intention was to make me feel good, he did and I did. So we both won. And I continue to win, having just turned 43, I remember that moment often and smile when I think about how he just started clapping. He didn’t say anything, he just clapped…and smiled.
So when it comes to managing people and businesses and teams, when was the last time you clapped? And if you can’t remember, that might tell you something too. Maybe we should bring back clapping like Ellen DeGeneres brought back dancing? If you don’t reward good behaviour you might find a lack of it on your team.
Its imperative to how your team interrelates and builds respect, if you cheer, cheer publicly so that they will cheer each other and potentially cheer you. I’ll leave it up to you on how you cheer, clap or congratulate. Remember my friends little guy who within 20 seconds communicated ‘good’ to me and instantly took away any apprehension of telling him my age. And then sit and ponder what else we can learn from a 5 year old.