Who is your minister of honor?

For a few weeks now, there is the role of ‘minister of honor’ in my team. Whoever holds this role is responsible to encourage all team members. And although this sounds somewhat silly or easy-to-do at first sight, it it neither nor.

People who have been in this role mentioned that it isn’t easy to find the right words for a chat message to encourage someone. They said that they were wondering how to live this role in a creative way.

Actually, these are reflection moments that I cherish. If you hand out responsiblity in your team, you give a person the chance to grow. In this case, the minister of honor needs to actively think about each team member. What kind of communication does each person like? When and how does this person feel appreciated?

Assigning the ‚role of minister of honor‘ feels a bit artificial at first, but it trains a certain perspective that is actually quite valuable for a leader. We intuitively expect a good leader to appreciate us and our work. But when did that leader learned how and when to do it?

Which leads to the question: how and when do you appreciate other people?

Maybe it would be a good training to take the role ‚minister of honor‘ this week yourself. Challenge yourself to speak affirmation, write encouraging notes and give small tokens of appreciation where possible. People will love it and you will grow in your leadership.