April 4, 2006

May not be reprinted without the consent of Sue Miller

Contact: Sue@suemillerpresentations.com

WORKPLACE WISDOM NEWSLETTER

What is an affirmation?

An affirmation is a statement that builds up another person.

Affirming means

“to build up the esteem of another by telling the truth"

In the Disney movie "Bambi", there was a little rabbit named

Thumper whose wise mother taught him:

"If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all."

Well, we don't need to affirm other people 100% of the time, but we must

learn to affirm more people in more ways in more days of our lives. I see

evidence of this every day. There are work environments where there are no

affirmations...and there are homes where there are no affirmations. And, by

the way, affirming someone is not just being politically correct...it is the

affirming that is sincere from the heart that really makes a difference.

Sometimes, I want to scream "Who died and left you in charge of the

world?". Our society seems to value CRITICS. The more we criticize,

the more we demonstrate intelligence. Right? Foo-ey!

What happened to the GOOD GUYS? Does it demonstrate weakness

to be positive, respectful, and just down-right nice? No! Our society

needs your affirmations - your positive spin!

Five Ways to Affirm

1. Affirm the task that a person is doing.

“Sarah, your reports are always correct! Thanks for being so thorough in

your work!”

2. Affirm the generous support someone is giving.

“Steve, I appreciated your help. I could not have finished this by myself

today.”

3. Affirm that you like the person.

”Fran, I'm glad you're on the team. You’re pleasant and fun to work with."

4. Affirm a person's values - when you can.

“Dave, I was impressed when you said you couldn't work on Saturday. It can

be hard to keep our personal priorities straight when we feel company

pressure.”

April 4, 2006

May not be reprinted without the consent of Sue Miller

Contact: Sue@suemillerpresentations.com

5. Affirm a person's standards.

“Judy, you are an extremely dedicated worker. When I see you giving 101%

on this tough job, it makes me rededicate my own efforts. You inspire all of

us to keep the bar high.”

Reasons We Don't Give Affirmations

1. No time – too busy.

WRONG! Affirming has greater payoff than anything else you can do

to motivate.

2. Think it won’t matter.

WRONG! Recognition is the #1 Motivator in the American workforce

today!

3. The other person doesn’t like it.

WRONG! We ALL love to hear that we're appreciated.

My message today is this:

STOP being critical. No one died and left you (or me) in charge!

START affirming others more often. Watch the difference it makes!

So, will YOU affirm at least 5 people today?

Let's you and I, both, make it a habit!