Motivation - It Starts with Acknowledgement -

Home
>
Business Management
>
Motivation - It Starts with Acknowledgement

Motivation - It Starts with Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement is about recognition or attention from another person. It can be physical such as - a pat on the back, a touch or a handshake. It can also be psychological such as - a word of praise, a compliment, even a "hello!" It can even just be time spent with the person.

Physical and psychological attentions are absolutely vital to human beings. We all need it and we need it every day. However, it must be said that every human being has a different level of need for acknowledgement.

If you looked at it on a scale of 0 to 100 then there are a small number of people who'd be low on the scale. These are the people who cut themselves off from others, the hermits amongst us. The majority of people however, are pretty far up that scale.

The need for acknowledgement is something that's programmed into us. Babies and children have a huge need for physical acknowledgement. You can see that demonstrated by the way they reach out for you, how they want to be held and cuddled. Research has shown that infants who are denied this physical acknowledgement can suffer both in their physical and emotional growth.

As children develop their use of language, they start to need psychological attention as well. I'm sure you've experienced children coming to you, with something they've drawn or made, looking for your praise. As we grow into adulthood we become more sophisticated; however our need for acknowledgement doesn't go away, we just seek it in a different way.

We send out all sorts of signals just to get acknowledgement. We "casually" mention some achievement - "I've managed to reduce my golf handicap" - "My boss has asked me to take on more responsibility" or - "Our child has just passed their exams."

We take other actions to meet our need for acknowledgement. Do you remember the TV programme Cheers about the regular customers in a Boston bar? The show's signature theme had a line in it which went something like - "Everybody goes where everybody knows your name!" The characters in Cheers don't just go to Cheers for a drink; they know that when they walk in the door someone, probably the person behind the bar will acknowledge them.

I was speaking to a participant on one of my seminars and he was telling me all about his role as President of his local fishing club. All the things he had to do, the newsletter to write, the competitions to organise and the meetings to attend. I asked him if he got paid for it. "Oh no" was the reply, "I do it because I like it." Of course he does it because he likes it and no doubt it's a lot of work and takes up lots of his time. However, the acknowledgement he receives from this is massive.

I've known elderly parents who exaggerate illness just to get their family to visit and spent time with them; they just want acknowledgement.

A human's need for acknowledgement is so strong that they will sometimes behave badly to get that acknowledgement. I'm sure you're aware of children who behave badly in school just to get attention - well, adults do it too. That person in your team who gives you all sorts of problems which are often difficult to understand, may just be seeking acknowledgement.

The people you manage need acknowledgement and spending quality time with them is the way to do it. Just to be clear - acknowledgement isn't just about praising people; it's about spending time, listening and speaking with them.

Discover how you can generate more business by motivating your team! Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales by Motivating Your Team" This book is packed with practical things you can do to get the best out of your people. Visit http://www.howtogetmoresales.com

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Single-Source-Introduces-New-Advanced/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B5F9B6094-79DA-4B91-9089-E3100016FC14%257Dcid=1276524746ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNEjwCpUnH4exA2mfmMzXxehuT0AlQSingle Source Introduces New Advanced Quote bManagement/b (AQM)(TM b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1All functions seamlessly integrate to the inherent back-office financials, inventory, purchasing and bmanagement/b reporting functionality of SM-Plus-meeting b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20081201005164/encid=1276524746ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFlMC80qmGoS6s6af_w3jVlzQcPGQKANA Recognized by Leading Industry Publications for Innovation b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBusiness Wire (press release)/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276524746hl=ennobrall 22 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.rte.ie/business/2008/1201/usa.htmlcid=1276422140ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHI4FDxFdZpF4GgY3dI4Ww7zErd9wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=WpyTjZDqjJkJimgurl=dynimg.rte.ie/000139f210dr.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2RTE.ie/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/global-manufacturing-gauges-collapse-november/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B89D71098-0129-432D-875A-1EECDDE62475%257D%26dist%3Dmsr_1cid=1276422140ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFR-YxargZaI7-8Nhv5CdwzQbSgcgECONOMIC REPORT Global manufacturing gauges collapse in November/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b of price pressures hit an all-time low, according to a survey of corporate purchasing managers released Monday by the Institute for Supply bManagement/b. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120101022.htmlcid=1276422140ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNEnjUgtaiZ1X8ociFLZJ1Mo4USFAAManufacturing index drops to 26-year low/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWashington Post/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/economy/ISM_November/%3Fpostversion%3D2008120110cid=1276422140ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHi-YDdcIvh3mhR9IDLEjfp9xfWGwManufacturing index at 26-year low/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNNMoney.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2008/12/01/daily9.htmlcid=1276422140ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHKFD7ovmRQQr5nU6vRAGKJpjCrCwManufacturing hits 26-year low/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-weekbox1-2008dec01,0,7052508.storycid=1276422140ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFBWd8Gg0y_Q7MJKx0BgZ0fldRplQnobrLos Angeles Times/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4B04HX20081201cid=1276422140ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNGJ1s02pagSXDQTRJi2EOpFtxDonQnobrReuters/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276422140hl=ennobrall 616 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1090933/A-partridge-dear-tree-Forking-Twelve-Days-Of-Christmas-costs-60-000--11-cent-year.htmlcid=1276433807ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNGO7XkIzkCUgpELIwxtlC5ptaHBkAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=Ry2sHyMQlQ8Jimgurl=i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/12/01/article-1090933-0405639D0000044D-292_468x552.jpg width=68 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Daily Mail/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/price-tags-on-partridges-and-pear-trees-a-different-cpi/cid=1276433807ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNF7YlOfUN5fpIXGcIGvNa_bYVSQNgPrice Tags on Partridges and Pear Trees: A Different CPI/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNew York Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Catherine Rampell For the last 24 years, PNC Wealth bManagement/b (or its predecessor, Provident Bank) has released this whimsical index, a measure of the b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D_PPfujQH9BIcid=1276433807ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNG7bUnddt6MUNDsPeKNg9xskMO30wVideo: 12 Days of Christmas#39; Items Would Cost $86,609/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/_PPfujQH9BI/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/_PPfujQH9BItype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hbRtA6z3x9Zijla9K78YuJGQEq3QD94PT2QO0cid=1276433807ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNEPy_fx5Tpw-wt0QxNnh_x03CEYTA#39;12 Days of Christmas#39; items would cost $86609/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blogs.reuters.com/shop-talk/2008/12/01/costly-classical-christmas/cid=1276433807ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFBVMh40-bp-BTp0iFODUqvWlw13gCostly Classical Christmas/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://sev.prnewswire.com/banking-financial-services/20081201/NY4898601122008-1.htmlcid=1276433807ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHdRVW96vnI0TNXXu3FqcNEck9QQAnobrPR Newswire (press release)/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1683934.htmcid=1276433807ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNGG7Mbk6bPkWM6vQu2VDpFJYBmFywnobrPR Web (press release)/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276433807hl=ennobrall 351 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/AGC-LCM-Declare-Dividends/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B641366A4-F68C-4D7E-8870-F3ADCB0D1839%257Dcid=1276595346ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFDMjuuvLRzoochysKx7qCWwn2wJwAGC and LCM Declare Dividends/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1a diversified closed-end bmanagement/b investment company, has declared its December monthly dividend of $0.0664 per share, reflecting a reduction of $0.0286 b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Madison-Strategic-Sector-Premium-Fund/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BC33E7986-8414-4885-A820-D3C6B4AEB310%257Dcid=1276595346ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHko8egtFXEqCdn7_e2mpuV3MsKewMadison Strategic Sector Premium Fund (MSP) Declares Quarterly b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/WIW-Declares-Monthly-Dividend/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B817D8E56-4EF0-411B-A366-BFA950A03F90%257Dcid=1276595346ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFiMoLvm6NytDhTLLzsQnYIve_R5gWIW Declares Monthly Dividend/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276595346hl=ennobrall 58 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSTRE4AP0Z620081201cid=1276378241ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHCgXwKiS9pK6JMaHrjcOFfmn0t8wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=zD_6cUQ7_F0Jimgurl=www.reuters.com/resources/r/%3Fm%3D02%26d%3D20081201%26t%3D2%26i%3D7025988%26w%3D192%26r%3D2008-12-01T161406Z_01_BTRE4AP0IB600_RTROPTP_0_AIG width=80 height=55 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Reuters/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/01/business/01aig.phpcid=1276378241ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHhColL_BZ_WIzHTzoQrBfXgMG8tAAIG sells wealth bmanagement/b unit to Abu Dhabi group/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fInternational Herald Tribune,nbsp;Francenbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1NEW YORK: American International Group, the troubled insurance giant, said Monday that it had agreed to sell its wealth bmanagement/b provider AIG Private Bank b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/12/01/aig-abu-dhabi-markets-equity-cx_md_1201markets16.htmlcid=1276378241ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFsKtYw_D3pWBm28Uh2jKNb8xx4vQAIG Sheds A Private Bank/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrForbes/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSBNG40949220081201cid=1276378241ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNE_ajBZiVlRii2K0FUhy9iiUHyC2wUPDATE 1-AIG to sell AIG Private Bank to UAE#39;s Aabar/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.tradearabia.com/news/BANK_153281.htmlcid=1276378241ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHo1Zvffi1g2kjBKZxKRSGl-9kDdQAabar acquires AIG Private Bank/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTrade Arabia/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081201/REG/812019992cid=1276378241ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNEhAE_hTyEpl1wZQTSqQ_-sfroilAnobrInvestmentNews/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3540381/AIG-begins-asset-sales-to-pay-back-153bn-funding-lifeline.htmlcid=1276378241ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFER5KQ1xDk13R4YQ2W3uEiqqi0IQnobrTelegraph.co.uk/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276378241hl=ennobrall 163 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Research-Markets-Training-Management-Maturity/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B7D6818E5-8250-4A6D-B555-A9CD4D5EA73A%257Dcid=1276579789ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFYwamtjHJGpvhpOh2-eqGzsbglVQResearch and Markets: Training bManagement/b Maturity Model: A b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1How effective is your current training bmanagement/b system? What do you need to do to improve it? Find out with this best practice model and set of assessment b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Research-Markets-Fundamentals-Quality-Control/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B179937E7-E40D-4AED-8F23-F04BD5B29EC0%257Dcid=1276579789ei=W400SYjCKqXg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNEtmN4qPbDkOVrKa8Xr8oPitBpavQResearch and Markets: Fundamentals of Quality Control and b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276579789hl=ennobrall 12 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

management - Google News

Motivation - It Starts with Acknowledgement

Business Management