Each Week, in our rubric #MondayLead – Your weekly development we present a little task or inspiration to you aiming at making your working life as a manager or team leader easier. Each task is explained succinctly to be immediately applicable in practice.
This week: Make a little present to your colleagues.
Last week we talked about how Smiling does the trick. This week it’s about gaining commitment by making little presents.
To avoid any misapprehensions in the first place: This is not about buying expensive stuff like a watch, a gift coupon or a ticket for the next big event to be. What we talk about are little somethings for your colleagues or a favour here and there – small effort with big output.
But let’s start right from the beginning: If it’s about doing little favours to your counterpart you often read that this person feels obliged to you afterwards. Based on an “I did something for you, now you have to…” scheme. I always disliked the negative connotation of an obligation. I’ll rather speak of a feeling of proximity you cause at your counterpart and – in the most ideal case – a feeling of being understood which builds trust and commitment.
Here’s an example: On your way through the office you pass your employee who is working on the same presentation – which might have been instructed by you – since like hours. He tears at his hair and seems to get pretty desperate. Now you can pass by and hope for the best (both for him and your presentation). Or you stop and say “Hey, how are you? Would you like to have a coffee break together?”. First he might be puzzled about this offer. But he will also tend to feel that you care about him and that you understand him. He will be thankful not only for the coffee but also for the attention you paid to him. So you’ll rise on his like-scale and it will increase the commitment to you and to the task as well. Hopefully, after the coffee break his attitude changed from “I just want to close this thing.” to “Okay, I’ll make a good presentation”. Desirable, don’t you think?
The list of possible practice is long: Invitation to a shared lunch break, picking up the files your colleague just dropped, bringing some pastry to the next meeting or just helping someone carry folders from A to B.
Well, now it’s your task: In the next five days, find a way to do something nice for one of your colleagues or employees and be pleased about the results.
We’d be really glad to hear your experience.
You might be also interested in:
Smiling does the trick – Winning your employees’s favour (Part one)