Thanking the team

Thanking the team is such an important and positive leadership quality it doesn’t take long and motivates the team.

I was in the conservatory area of Rick Steins Seafood restaurant in Padstow. We’d just finished our meal and asked if we could move from the table and have a couple of drinks somewhere else which (fortunately as it turned out) we could. The meal and the Rick Stein experience was a Christmas present from my wife and we both went to Padstow with my brother and his wife. 

Anyway, I was just about to take my first sip of a very nice Bas Almanac when I saw a chap outside, smoking, who was absolutely trolleyed. My initial reaction was blimey, he’s had more than us?! He was tottering around the pavement, on the spot which was a bit weird, moving from toe tip to heel as to stop himself from crashing onto the floor. 

And then it happened, he just fell backwards and crashed onto the floor with a huge thud, I was convinced he’d cracked his head open. 

Now those that know me know I like my first aid and at one time delivered the 1 and 3 day courses. I’ve also volunteered for Mountain Rescue and learnt loads from them. So, I leaped into action with a “Oh Shit”! and went to offer my assistance. 

Thanking the Team Members

I was the first on the scene and quickly assessed the situation. He was on his back, unconscious and unable to breath because his airway was blocked. Almost immediately a chap and his wife came to help. The lady promptly called 999 and the chap and now a team member from the restaurant helped me roll the casualty on his side to clear the airway.

Within minutes, as lifesaving oxygen was passing through his veins and arteries, he started to answer a couple of question and come too more. We then, after checking for further injuries, allowed him to sit and then stand and move into the warmth of the restaurant lobby. The team member also went to find his wife.

The ambulance came very quickly and I advised him to seek medical attention because delayed concussion is a killer. 

So that was me done and I re-joined my wife, brother and sister in law. Job done; I’d saved his life; he would have died. As my adrenaline level and more Bas Almanac went down, I realised that I never said thank-you to the couple and the team member that helped me. 

I was caught up in the moment, the training took over and I sprang into action. Like the casualty after an incident I just wanted everything to revert back to how it was which is why I re-joined my party and left the professionals to their job. I was gutted and a little embarrassed. I could have done it without them but that’s not the point, they helped out and deserved recognition. Like a team member – they went the extra mile, big time.  

As it happened, they were on the next table, so I leant over and thanked them for their help and told them they were very brave. They appreciated the gesture (you could tell) and told us that the chap had just popped the question – they just (literally just) got engaged. 

Thanking the team members is so important. A top tip from our Action Focused Leadership and Management Program is to put 6 coins in your left trouser pocket (if you wear them) in the morning and then every time you thank or praise a team member you move 1 coin to the right pocket, as a reminder. Cricket umpires do this to remind them how many balls have been bowled during an over. You can then go a little further and do the same at home, move the 6 coins from the right to the left - ready for thanking the team the next day. 

Thanks for visiting our thanking the team blog page here's a link to our homepage. There is a great book we recommend during our management and leadership program which is the one minute manager and here's a link for further information. 

As well as lots of smaller businesses and organisations, below are examples of some larger organisations who have received training from our director of learning at Ultimate Leadership Training:


spring care

arches
Zeelo

branded
Gatwick School

ned
catch

Nimbus
CAB

Please contact us to discuss any training requirements you have, we either deliver for you or sell you the course for your trainers to deliver to your team