Recognize Your Employees Achievements

Reconozca los logros de su personal.

Una de las principales quejas que hay acerca de los ejecutivos es que no reconocen los logros
de su personal. Los lderes tienen que activamente construir un sentido de conectividad con su
personal, y esto inicia mostrando aprecio.

Haga notar las contribuciones del personal. Diga alguna cosa que resalte los logros
especficos:
Aprecio la manera en que motiva a la gente de otros departamentos para que se alcancen los
objetivos del equipo. Eres un gran conector.

Agradezca personal y publicamente. Las interacciones diarias, desde el ascensor

hasta el parqueo, son oportunidades para mostrar aprecio por los esfuerzos de su personal. El
reconocimiento pblico en una reunin de personal, o un sincer Gracias en un newsletter o un
correo, son tambin significativos.

Pregunte, Qu piensa usted. D la oportunidad al personal de expresarse y ser

reconocidos por sus ideas. Pregunte proactivamente a su personal, Cmo piensa que se
podra mejorar? y Qu nos mantiene estancados?.

Adoptado de The Top Complaints from Employees About Their Leaders, by Lou Solomon.

Scripps' CEO Chris Van Gorder on the power of

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Written by Tamara Rosin (Twitter | Google+) | September 22, 2015
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Communication is arguably the most essential leadership skill. As the head of an organization, a CEO makes
decisions for and on behalf of the organization he or she leads. Effectively communicating these decisions to
the rest of the organization is critical for ensuring buy-in and trust. On a more granular level, a leader must
demonstrate this ability to communicate with others on a daily basis.
When I emailed Chris Van Gorder to comment on this topic at 7:45 pm PST, he replied three minutes later.
This is not unusual. Mr. Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health in San Diego, is notorious for his
ability to remain in constant communication with his senior leadership team, employees across the organization
and even those outside of the Scripps system. He is a remarkably accessible and responsive CEO.

Email is "the best tool ever invented," Mr. Van Gorder said at the Becker's Hospital Review annual conference
in May. "When I go back to my hotel room, I will answer every email that has come to me while I was making
this presentation."
At the time, Mr. Van Gorder was actively communicating with Scripps leaders and clinicians who were stationed
in Nepal to provide aid following the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that caused more than 5,000 deaths and
10,000 injuries. He debriefed with the Scripps emergency medical response team twice a day and shared their
photos and stories in systemwide daily emails.
Similarly, Mr. Van Gorder said email was a critical tool for communicating with the rest of the organization when
Scripps deployed its emergency medical response team to Houston after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and to Haiti
after the devastating earthquake in 2010.
"What a powerful tool it became to let everyone know we were safe and doing good work," says Mr. Van
Gorder. "I can honestly say those moments contributed to changing our culture."
It is a culture in which individuals see communication as a top responsibility, as well as a valuable tool. Scripps
is not the only organization to value communication. According to a recent Interact/Harris Poll survey of roughly
1,000 workers, 91 percent of respondents said communication issues can lower an executive's standing.
A surveyadministered among 412 millennial workers, administered by Virtuali and Workplacetrends.com, found
the millennial generation believes communication is the most important skill a leader should possess.
In today's technology-driven era, in which a majority of communication happens through email, texting and
video conferencing, the ability to stay connected and respond promptly to others is critical. While this is true for
employees at virtually all levels of an organization, it is most pertinent for leaders and managers.

Responsiveness signals respect

Mr. Van Gorder holds himself to a high standard of responsiveness all the time, not just during crises, though
he stresses communication is doubly important in periods such as these.
"My strategy [for communication] is simple. Being responsive is a sign of respect, which is one of our core
values as an organization. I've always thought that if someone takes the time to send me a note, I should take
the time in return to respond in an appropriate way," he says. "Since we are a 24/7 organization, the first thing I
do in the morning before I even head to work is answer any note that came to me during the night, and the last
thing I do before going to bed is make sure I didn't miss any during the day."
Because Scripps is such a large system five hospital campuses, 16 clinics, 12 medical centers, 23 specialty
clinics and two wellbeing centers it is impossible to connect with everyone physically. Through email, Mr.
Van Gorder connects with executives and managers across various locations, in addition to individuals with
whom he communicates regularly. Some of the most valuable information he receives comes from physicians,
managers, volunteers and other frontlines workers. It is this type of communication that allows Mr. Van Gorder
to understand the true pulse of the organization.
"I have some employees who email me regularly, which gives me the chance to ask them personally how it is
going in their hospital or unit. That's information I could never get in a report or probably even in a group
discussion," he says.

Leaders are on the receiving end of a constant stream of reports and information, but sometimes the most
important information is filtered out either intentionally or unintentionally, according to Mr. Van Gorder. The
best way to access this information is to go out in the field and talk to people face-to-face, which Mr. Van
Gorder does at least once a week. However, when more frequent communication is needed or when something
is pressing, email is the most effective mode of communication.

Can connectivity to email become too much?

The ability to reply to emails promptly throughout the day is important and even required in many jobs.
However, there are different philosophies regarding the need to write and respond to emails after work hours.
A substantive amount of literature discusses how a high degree of connectivity or compulsion to respond to
emails promptly, even after work, leads to increased stress. For example, in an article in the Harvard Business
Reviewcalled "Your late-night emails are hurting your team," Maura Thomas, a TEDx Speaker, author
of Personal Productivity Secrets and founder of RegainYourTime.com, says never disconnecting from email
causes people to skip out on essential "down time" necessary for rejuvenating and producing fresh insights
before returning to work the next morning.
"Creativity, inspiration, and motivation are your competitive advantage, but they are also depletable resources
that need to be recharged," Ms. Thomas wrote.
Mr. Van Gorder notes that the level of connectedness he practices is not for everyone, but it is what works for
him. "For my personality, I'd probably be more stressed if I was out of contact or unavailable."
All leaders must determine the standards they hold for themselves for communication, as well as reasonable
standards for others. Mr. Van Gorder points out that his personal standards for communication do not indicate a
lack of trust in his staff or Scripps' internal processes. He simply enjoys corresponding with the people he
works with.
"To be honest, the greatest joy I get in this job is connecting to patient care and the frontlines of the
organization. It's my roots and I find great comfort and motivation being right where the important work is taking
place."

MICROINFARTOS DE CONFIANZA
Antes de adentrarse en la lectura de esta columna, le sugiero ordenar los conceptos que a continuacin se
mencionarn, segn la secuencia que a su parecer debe darse en personas, equipos y empresas que
intenten alcanzar grandes hazaas: compromiso, visin, profesionalismo, alto rendimiento, inteligencia
emocional y autoconfianza. Listo? Bien, ahora, qu le parece la siguiente propuesta?
Todo comienza con un anhelo, un sueo o una ilusin. La inquietud por lograr algo relevante se agita
hasta convertirse en una visin apasionante; es una aoranza que reta la imaginacin porque no se tiene

toda la seguridad ni el control absoluto para alcanzarla. La relevancia de ese futuro ideal se agranda al
tener en cuenta las razones por las que vale la pena emprender la marcha, por ejemplo: familia,
prosperidad, realizacin personal y dejar un legado, entre otras.
El segundo paso es considerar dos preguntas: 1- Qu se necesita para concretar esa gran meta? 2- Qu
se tiene de eso que se necesita? De las respuestas a estas interrogantes surge la auto-confianza; es decir,
la conviccin de ser capaces de cerrar la brecha entre el futuro y la situacin actual, entre lo requerido y
la habilidad para responder ante las exigencias. Sin esa confianza, el proyecto se desestima y all termina
todo. Crersela es el eje principal de todo!, sin conviccin no habr forma de avanzar seguros hacia
el objetivo.
Si la intencin contina, surge la decisin de trabajar segn el estndar de alto desempeo. O sea, lograr
resultados extraordinarios, crecientes y sostenibles en tres mbitos: compromiso, inteligencia emocional
y profesionalismo. Cmo se evala usted o su equipo en cada una de esas categoras y sus
componentes? Puede usar una escala de (1) a (10), si lo desea.
Compromiso: Absoluta responsabilidad y rendicin de cuentas ( ), esfuerzo mximo y constante en todo
lo que se hace ( ), perseverancia en el mejoramiento de la calidad del trabajo ( ), frrea disciplina en el
cumplimiento de acuerdos, normas y plazos ( ), inquebrantable hambre de gloria, ( ), entrega al 100%
y ms ( ). Promedio:___
Inteligencia emocional: Estabilidad anmica ( ), procesamiento rpido y apropiado de situaciones
adversas provocadas por crticas, agresiones verbales y fracasos intermedios ( ), serenidad ante
inconvenientes irrelevantes sin perder la mira en el gran propsito ( ), proyectar seguridad, incluso a
competidores ( ), lectura y gestin adecuada de las emociones propias y de las ajenas ( ), elevada
motivacin intrnseca ( ) y gestin fluida de relaciones ( ). Promedio:___
Profesionalismo: Flexibilidad y adaptacin ( ), maximizar recursos, incluyendo contactos ( ), pasin por
aprender y disposicin para desaprender ( ), comunicacin directa ( ), compaerismo convertido en

preparacin de calidad integral para servir al equipo ( ), supresin de creencias limitantes ( ), disfrutar
por lo que se hace ( ) y amor por la organizacin ( ). Promedio:___
Segn algunos psiclogos deportivos, el enojo, la agresin y el descontrol son microinfartos de la
confianza; manifestaciones de impotencia y de frustracin por no haber visto satisfechos varios de los
requisitos enunciados. Si los tres promedios son superiores a ocho, seguramente usted y su equipo
superarn con solvencia estos microinfartos, pues cuentan con una ptima salud que les permitir
avanzar en la ruta propuesta y alcanzar el sueo visualizado.