The Leadership Challenge Workbook, 4th Edition

Encourage the Heart

MAKING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS HAPPEN IN ORGANIZATIONS is hard work. Leaders encourage their followers’ hearts to go the distance. They recognize and reward people's efforts in pursuit of the common vision and values. With personalized recognitions—a thank‐you note, a smile, and both private and public praise—they let their team members know how much their work means to the organization.

Leaders also express pride in the accomplishments of their teams. They make a point of telling others what the team has achieved. They make time to celebrate milestones visibly and publicly, reinforcing the fact that people accomplish more together than apart.

To Encourage the Heart, you recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence, and you celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.

Here are examples from the personal‐best cases we've collected of how leaders Encourage the Heart:

• The new coach of a high school basketball team took the same team of girls who'd had a losing season the prior year and applied a positive approach to creating a winning season the next year. Her method was simple. Instead of always pointing out the negatives, she would start with “Here's what you guys did right,” and then “Here are two or three things you can improve on.” She also made it a point to tell the girls often how much she believed ...