Sharing the Love

As Valentine’s Day is upon us, we notice a change in the air. It brings out the romantics and suddenly the store shelves are filled with flowers and paraphernalia all in an attempt for the consumer to profess their love for just one day, at an inflated price.  Now call me a cynic, but I have a strong belief that this act of “romance” should not be just for a day, there is nothing quite like an act of romance be it a special occasion or just some random Tuesday.

• So how about in your business? 
• Do you share the love with your team or does it go by the wayside?
• Are your team passionate about their careers, burning with a desire to make each day better than the last?

Never underestimate a random act of kindness and just what effect it can have on a person’s frame of mind. Now, I’m not talking about extravagant gifts or luxurious holidays, it may be something simple as saying thank you or congratulating the team member on a job well done.

Let’s face it, for Property Managers at the coalface it can sometimes be a thankless job, one which has a huge rate of attrition so it may just be the little things that can help in averting the next Property Manager breakdown. You know the one I’m talking about, where they are curled up in the corner in a foetal position willing the world to go away. We’ve all been there, its learning how to get up, dust ourselves off and kick on that separates that lions from the lambs.

Social reinforcers can yield positive results when it comes to performance and studies have found that an individual will perform twice as well when provided social reinforcement than what they did before. With this in mind, have a think about the last time you gave your team a thank you, just off the cuff? This isn’t just with bosses in mind either. As a worker bee, when was the last time that you congratulated your team mate for a job well done, given them a smile or said thank you for a task they may have assisted you with? How about even offering to help out with a task when they may be sinking? Try it just at random and you may be surprised how it can make all the difference in someone’s day.


“I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.”  ― Roald Dahl

- Heidi Walkinshaw