An exclusive excerpt from Jim Gordon’s book shows why genuine appreciation is the foundation of a strong team and the key to collaboration, engagement, and sustainable results.
The excerpt below, presented EXCLUSIVELY for careers-business.ro, from the book The 7 Commitments of an Extraordinary Team by Jim Gordon, recently published by ap! (ACT and Politon), discusses one of the most overlooked principles underlying a truly cohesive team—namely, the appreciation among its members.
Genuine appreciation of people is described by the author as the seventh commitment and is a crucial factor because, without it, all the other principles remain mere theory. In a team, everyone needs to feel seen, respected, and heard.
Exclusive excerpt:
— If you don’t appreciate one another and don’t recognize the value of your team members, then none of the other commitments work or make sense. First, you must appreciate each other and value the team. If you do that, you’ll be able to commit to giving your all for the team, to growing together, to staying united, and to sacrificing for one another. When you truly appreciate your team, all of these things become possible. But if you don’t appreciate each other, you won’t do any of them.
Although this was the 7th Commitment, Tim believed it should actually have been the first commitment—the first one taught to a team. Tim wrote in his notebook: The last will be first, and the first will be last.
Tim wondered how he could put this commitment into practice and how he could help his team apply it. Together with coach Amy, he held a brainstorming session and arrived at the word VALUE (APPRECIATION). He and the leadership team would focus on valuing employees—making them feel appreciated and showing them what it truly means to APPRECIATE one another. He knew that some people felt their job was like a sentence they had to serve in prison, and he hoped that if they felt as appreciated as those inmates had, he would be able to “set them free.”
— If it worked in a prison, it could certainly work in an office, he said, laughing.
ap! (ACT and Politon) is one of the most important players in Romania’s book market. Specializing in high-quality nonfiction, the publishing house has brought to the local market a range of authors who have made a global impact, such as Tim Ferriss, Robin Sharma, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Steve Harvey, Gino Wickman, and many others. At the same time, ap! (ACT and Politon) is the Romanian publisher under whose imprint the largest number of audiobooks has been released locally. Launched in 2014, the publishing house has introduced over 300 audiobook titles in Romania, many of them bestsellers that have traveled the world and changed thousands of lives.
ap! (ACT and Politon) believes in continuous development and brings Romanian readers titles covering a wide range of topics, including personal and professional development, business, entrepreneurship, spirituality, and wellbeing. The publisher’s titles are available in both traditional formats and as eBooks, MP3s, or audiobooks, allowing readers to enjoy them anytime in their lives.
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