Have you ever struggled to build a positive relationship with others?
Personal struggle alert! I consider myself a positive person, I think. Anyone that knows me well will tell you I am light-hearted, and I interact best with humor. I believe I am easy to work with, but I have struggled with relationships recently because I believe people do not trust me. As an administrator, I think we always run into occasions where people mistrust us for a variety of reasons. I believe I make decisions for students in the best interest of the student and I am not intending on ruffling feathers among staff, but I sense there is mistrust at times. How do we maneuver these issues? Is there a need for more warm fuzzy moments?
I have a morning ritual for improvement. John C. Maxwell is my favorite author and speaker. Each day I read from his book, The Maxwell Daily Reader. Recently I read an entry entitled, Give them the “10” Treatment. I believe it originally made an appearance in his book, The 360 Degree Leader. I share this entry because it really opened my eyes to what I expect of myself and others. I admit I am not always perfect at doing these things but also understand I am committed to changing myself. Mr. Maxwell shares three points written by his father. First, build people up with encouragement. Second, give people credit by acknowledgment. Lastly, give people recognition by gratitude.
We feel good about our lives when others give us encouragement as we work towards our goals. We feel accepted when people acknowledge our accomplishments or thank us for our efforts. Not to make excuses, but when life gets busy and many things are thrown in our direction, we forget how important these little acts are for individuals. Like Mr. Maxwell’s father we could make intentional steps to remind us that these acts need to happen in our dealings with others.
These are not “warm fuzzy moments” I referred to at the start of this post. These simple acts, that we forget to do are intricate when creating a positive culture at home or work. That is why I enjoy all of John C. Maxwell’s work because they are constant reminders of what we know is good interactions but at time forget to act upon them. I strongly encourage people any chance I can to read some of Mr. Maxwell’s books. They have made a positive impact on my life. Here are some closing questions for your personal reflection.
Who could you send some encouragement to?
Who needs to be acknowledged for all their hard work?
Have you thanked your loved ones or co-workers recently?
Reference
Maxwell, John C. The Maxwell Daily Reader, Nashville, TN, Nelson Books, 2007
