The First to Clap
Have you ever been in a social setting of some sort – perhaps a business presentation or meeting, a concert, a luncheon, a speech or the like – where you were itching to clap but no one else did, so you paused until everyone else started clapping?
Or, have you been in a similar social setting where clearly one person started the entire audience clapping? Perhaps that person was you?
I have often marveled at how easily one committed person can motivate and move an entire audience to applause. How one person who is committed to providing positive feedback can lead hundreds, if not thousands, of others into joining them to provide a ringing endorsement of what they have experienced together.
This is a great leadership lesson.
A close friend of mine who is a strong entrepreneurial leader recently shared with me his leadership philosophy:
“I want to be the first to clap.”
The profound simplicity of that landed on me.
Yes, I love it – be the first to clap. That speaks of recognition, encouragement, others-centeredness, initiative, gratitude, etc. He sees his job as the leader of his staff as being the first one to clap. He looks for opportunities where his team is doing good work. He looks to see where they are engaged, moving forward, accomplishing, taking initiative, demonstrating creativity and synergistic teamwork – where they are demonstrating the critical factors for success that he has helped champion in their corporate culture.
Then he claps and he says, “Well done.” “Good job.” “Atta go.” “I love it.” “Keep it up.” “Bravo.” “Encore.”
This clearly has a motivating effect on the team. People love recognition. We love it when someone notices. We love encouragement. We love it when we feel valued, when we feel like we are making a difference, when we matter. We love to be appreciated and not taken for granted.
In order to be a leader who is the “first to clap” we must have a number of key qualities:
- Be others-centered, not self-centered – it’s difficult to see what others are doing well if all we are concerned about is our own performance.
- Be an initiator – leaders take initiative, it is the very essence of what a leader is.
- Be intentional – decide in advance to resist passivity and push through the fear that may stop us from being the first to speak, to respond or to take action.
- Be a positive thinker, not a negative thinker – recognize what’s right, not just what is wrong. Too often all we see is what it wrong and address shortcomings and mistakes. If the glass is half empty then it must also be half full. Look for what is right and applaud that.
- Be an encourager – not everyone knows how to encourage. Some people come by it easily, but others need to work at it to become a good encourager. If you do not know how to encourage, then learn from someone who knows how.
- Be grateful – an attitude of gratitude for the work that people do on your team goes a long way to create a committed and motivated workforce.
So what does being the first to clap look like? Well, it can be a number of things:
- A handwritten card or letter
- An email
- Something said in private
- Something said in public
- A regular staff award of some kind
- Something formal or informal
There are myriad creative ways that you can be the first to clap for your team. Keep in mind that it is prudent when you provide your positive feedback to ensure it is specific and not general. In other words, don’t simply say, “Great job.”, and leave it at that. Provide some specific feedback in regard to what they did, “Great job, I love how you took initiative to solve the problem with Mr. Jones by…”. That way they know what they are being applauded for and can repeat those behaviors.
If you want to have an engaged, motivated and happy team, then a profound way you can create that is to be the first to clap. I know you can do that and have fun doing it. What a great job description – “The First to Clap”. Maybe it’s time to change your business cards and put beside your title “TFTC”
I applaud your efforts to lead well and be the first to clap. “Bravo!” “Well done!” “Encore!”
