Showing appreciation for others is vitally important to Encourage the Heart. Appreciation can be done elaborately, but can also be quick and easy, even in a virtual world! Below you will find two
ways to show your appreciation of others.
THE APPRECIATION CIRCLE
One way the iLead team shares appreciation for one another regularly is through an Appreciation Circle.
How it works:
At the end of a meeting the iLead team takes turns going “around the Zoom circle,” each person sharing with another what they appreciate about them. It can be anything from how they have helped on a project, the fact that they are always first on a Zoom call with a smile on their face, or how they send encouraging text messages at the end of a hard day. Using the picture below as an example, the facilitator shares who will appreciate whom. In this example Tom (as the facilitator) has Amy appreciate Denise, Denise appreciates Kim, Kim appreciates Michael, Michael appreciates Tom and then Tom closes the circle by appreciating Amy. We each take a minute or two to share one thing we appreciate about each other, usually as we wrap up our meetings.
Everyone gets off the Zoom feeling a little lighter, happier, and definitely appreciated!
YOU ARE APPRECIATED!
While we must always take time to appreciate those around us, the end of the year is a perfect time to sit back and reflect on how team members or peers have had a positive impact on you this year and then take a minute to tell them!
To help appreciate others, this fun team activity can be done in person or virtually. The materials can be brought to a meeting if in person. When done virtually, the materials can be found around each participant’s home or mailed to the participants by the meeting facilitator in advance.
Materials for each person:
- Paper (flipchart paper works best but a piece of copy paper can work too!)
- Markers, colored pencils, or crayons
- Art supplies – scraps of fabric, yarn, stickers, felt, buttons, construction paper, etc.
- Glue, tape, scissors
How it works:
- Write a list of the names of all participants. Cut the list into individual strips and place them in a container.
- Have each participant select one name from the container, being sure not to take his or her own. In a virtual environment the facilitator can draw names and individually message the name to each participant.
- Have each person create an Encourage the Heart poster for the person whose name he or she drew from the container. The poster should demonstrate what you appreciate about the person. Give people 10 minutes to complete their posters.
- Once the posters are complete, ask each participant to share his or her poster with the groups without disclosing who the poster is about.
- After all posters have been shared, ask group members to guess who each poster represents based on what was shared.
- Provide thunderous applause as each person is identified! Make sure to give this person their poster (or mail it to them) so they can remember why they are appreciated!
** This activity was adapted by Kim Gibbons from the activity You’re Making Me Blush by Jan Miller and Denise Knight found in The Leadership Challenge Activities Book.