Encouraging the Heart: A Leader's Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others

I learned that the word encouragement comes from the Latin root word " cor" , which means heart. So, it's like every time you encourage one of your employees, you're giving them a small piece of your heart. And that encouragement is the difference between success and failure.

Those who have already read Kouzes and Posner's The Leadership Challenge will immediately realize that this volume provides a deeper examination of the concepts introduced in Part Six ("Encouraging the Heart") of the previously published work. After introducing and then discussing five "leadership practices common to successful leaders" and ten "behavioral commitments" among those leaders studied iwhile preparing to write The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner focus on recognizing contributions (i.e. linking rewards with performance) and celebrating accomplishments (i.e. valuing the victories) in Part Six. In this volume, these two "leadership commitments" receive their full attention. The material is carefully organized within 12 chapters which range from "The Heart of Leadership" to "150 Ways to Encourage the Heart." Why did they write this book? There are four reasons. Practicality: "We wanted to offer a set of principles, practices, and examples that would provide leaders with a repeatable process -- a set of essential actions --they could apply in their own settings."Principle: "In this book, we not only demonstrate that encouraging the heart is not soft; we show how powerful a force it is in achieving high standards and stretch goals."Curiosity: "We've been intrigued for some time by this finding that] "female constituents do not report that their leaders encourage the heart any more than do male constituents, regardless of the gender of their leader] and we wanted to explore the practice in depth to see if we could understand more about these differences."Finally, "...because we wanted to add our voices to the discussion of soul and spirit in the workplace."Kouzes and Posner note that the word "encouragement" has its root in the Latin word "cor" which literally means "heart." (So does the word "courage.") To have courage is to have heart. To encourage -- to provide with or give courage -- literally means to give others heart. For me, there are at least three especially important core concepts: First, love what you do. Love those for whom you are responsible. And love them enough to set high standards for them and then give them hope that you and they can meet those standards. Second, don't think of leadership in terms of position, title, power, status, etc. Rather, think of it in terms of initiative. Encourage, recognize and reward initiative whenever and wherever you find it throughout your entire organization. Third and finally, practice what you preach and do that every day. The most effective leaders care....and care deeply. They have credibility because their values and behavior are in unshakable alignment. They have earned others' trust.Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out David Maister's Practice What You Preach, Tim Sanders' Love Is the Killer App, David Whyte's The Heart Aroused, and Larry Davis' Pioneering Organizations.

"We're living in a time that holds great promise. New developments in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology promise that some of the deadliest and most disabling diseases may be cured or at least better managed. New information technologies promise not only to connect us globally and to create whole new forms of commerce but also to foster peace and expand the reaches of our educational systems. Fledgling democratic movements promise to free people from centuries of tyranny and fear. But what is a promise without hope-hope that these promises will be kept? Bold leadership is required if we are to keep these hopes alive...Encouraging the Heart is ultimately about keeping hope alive. Leaders keep hope alive when they set high standards and genuinely express optimism about an individual's capacity to achieve them. They keep hope alive when they give feedback and publicly recognize a job well done. They keep hope alive when they give their constituents the internal support that all human beings need to feel that they and their work are important and have meaning. They keep hope alive when they train and coach people to exceed their current capacities. Most important, leaders keep hope alive when they set an example. There really is nothing more encouraging than to see our leaders practice what they preach" (from the Introduction).In this context, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner identify seven essentials to encouraging the heart. According to Kouzes and Posner, when leaders do their best to encourage the heart, they:1. Set clear standards- The first prerequisite for encouraging the heart is to set clear standards (goals and values or principles). To be successful in encouraging the heart, it's absolutely critical that everyone cherish a common set of standards. It's certainly not very encouraging to be in the dark about what we're expected to achieve, or never to know where we stand relative to what's important. Only when we know the standards can we set our sights for success. 2. Expect the best- High expectations or low expectations both influence other people's performance. Only high expectations have a positive impact on actions and on feelings about oneself. Thus, passionately believing in people and expecting the best of them is another prerequisite to encouraging the heart.3. Pay attention- One way of showing you care is to pay attention to people, to what they're doing, and to how they're feeling. If you are clear about the standards of behavior you're looking for and you believe and expect that people will perform like winners, then you're going to notice lots of examples of people doing things right, and doing the right things.4. Personalize recognition- Before recognizing someone, the best leaders get to know people personally. They learn about their likes and dislikes, their needs and interests. They observe them in their own settings. Then, when it comes time to recognize a particular person, they know a way to make it special, meaningful

This is a tremendous guide for analyzing and evaluating our personal attitudes, behaviors, and practices we display in both our personal and professional lives. Encouraging the Heart offers a fresh perspective that embraces the heart of leadership. It is motivationl and inspirational, yet gets beyond the "pep rally fluff" by providing real-life applications for a better understanding of what it means to lead and influence others.

Other books on leadership only tip their hats to the notion of motivating people. "Encouraging The Heart" actually shows you how to do it successfully. This book fleshes out, with stories and examples, the specific ways to let people know that they are truly appreciated and valued. Some employees quit just to find a better paying job, but it's usually the lack of rewards and appreciation that start employees looking around in the first place. Rewarding and recognizing others is essential to keeping good employees-and Kouzes and Posner show you how to do it. While some leaders are naturals at touching people's hearts, most of us have a lot of learn. This important book is a great guide.