Valentine’s Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated in many countries throughout the world. With its evolution through the years, it became an occasion where lovers express their love and appreciation for each other by presenting flowers, greeting cards, candies, gifts or even enjoying romantic dinners.
Personally, I do not celebrate this occasion with my partner in exchanging expensive gifts or going out for dinner at a posh restaurant. Instead, I take this day to express my appreciation and love to the people around me. I believe that the essence of this day is not necessarily restricted to the sharing of love between lovers. We can also show our love, thanks, and appreciation to our teammates.
Appreciation of teammates is not an activity that needs to be constricted just to one day (the 14th) or one month (February). Each day is an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge your teammates’ strengths and talents, and to thank them for them being their unique selves. Perhaps we can also appreciate their flaws and help them overcome their blindspots [1].
In the language of Emergenetics [2], different brains perceive appreciation differently – here are some meaningful words of thanks and ways to express appreciation to your teammates based on their Thinking preferences [3]:
- Analytical thinker – get to the point and give specific thanks for their roles in the areas that have helped you excel or achieve
- Structural thinker – send them a “Thank You” email or greeting card providing clear details about what you want to thank them for
- Social thinker – have a face-to-face meeting over a cup of coffee and share stories of how they have helped you
- Conceptual thinker – do something unique to capture their imagination or use metaphors to connect with them
Our behaviours [3] play a part too in portraying our appreciation with each other. Here are some ways in which you can approach teammates with different behaviours:
- Expressiveness – a one-to-one conversation with someone who operates in a quieter manner; a public recognition in a group with someone who tends to be more outgoing
- Assertiveness – for peacekeepers, give them time to internalise at a slower pace; for drivers, adopt a faster pace
- Flexibility – for someone who prefers to be focused, go along with their style and timing; for someone who prefers changes, any way or form is fine!
We often forget or dismiss the chance of thanking our team for their help and support. Even when we do, there are times that our good intentions are often misinterpreted or undervalued, or we don’t use the right words of thanks. Our intentions can sometimes have the wrong impact. This happens not just with teammates but with our loved ones too!
Understanding ourselves and others can help us improve the way we perceive words, actions and emotions, which in turn, help us better love, understand, and express appreciation for the people we work and live with.
Do you make a point to show your appreciation to your loved ones and teammates? It’s never too late to do so!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Geraldine is a Market Development Executive at Emergenetics International – Asia Pacific. She assists the Market Development team in organising marketing-related events, conducting market research, writing for the blog, and providing support for corporate client projects.
Geraldine has a Bachelor’s degree (Hon.) in Psychology and Forensic Science from the University of the West of England, United Kingdom. Prior to joining EGI-A, she has worked with special needs children (autism and ADHD) as a Behaviour Therapist.