by Shawn | Apr 15, 2021 | Podcast
Back in episode 12 we introduced the 5 Love Languages, a foundational concept from Dr. Gary Chapman that helps us see how we and other give and receive love best.
It’s such a valuable tool, especially for business leaders, because it can allow you to really pour into your team members in ways that matter most to them.
In episode 19 we dove into Words of Affirmation, one of the easiest to employ and personally, one of my top two.
Today, we’re going to look at the love language of Gifts. This is about giving and receiving gifts.
As we mentioned in the overview, all of the love languages tend to resonate with us on some level, but some seem to fill our tank more than others.
The same is true with gifts.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love to receive a gift (although, what the gift is and the meaning behind it can certainly come into play here).
But when it comes to people in your organization who would rate this at the top of their list, giving them a gift of some kind will matter even more than a word you could say to them or any of the other love languages.
Of course, if selecting a good gift or just giving gifts in general isn’t one of your strong suits, this could be a little tougher for you.
But it’s worth the effort to not only to identify who on your team Gifts ranks high with but also to learn better what kinds of gifts really resonate with them.
It could be an Amazon gift card to show appreciation for the work they’ve done. Or maybe something engraved or personalized. Or food. Or something else. Get creative.
And don’t think you have to nail it. If you’re willing to put some time into it, a gift doesn’t need to be expensive or super rare.
But people, especially those who are high Gift people, won’t soon forget that token of gratitude. It may not seem like much to you, but will mean the world to them.
So, why not take some extra time this week to think more about how you could show appreciation through gifts. Ask around or search online for ideas. Get creative. Put some heart into it. You won’t regret it.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com.
I’d love to connect: website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
by Shawn | Mar 1, 2021 | Podcast
Today, we talk about the wonder of people and set the stage for future episodes about how to value your people and leverage their strengths to thrive in your business
Let me say up front here that if you are a robot listening today… this episode is not for you. Go ahead and do something else while we talk for a few minutes about how awesome humans are.
No offense to you. You’re amazing too and can automate and pick stuff up and weld things and even dance now, apparently, but this episode is for the people. So, be on your way (even though I know you’ve already tapped into this feed, transcribed it and have scanned it for errors.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s you and I just talk for a few minutes, human to human.
One of the things in life that I’m most fascinated with… is you. A human being. I mean, probably not you specifically since I’ve most likely never met you. But no doubt, I’d feel the same if I met you.
But humans in general are just amazing.
We come in all kinds of shapes sizes, skin colors, personalities, senses of humor (or lack thereof), passions, skills, and more.
I believe that you were created for a reason. You were designed and planned, and you bring something unique and vital to the world around you.
The same is true for each of the people on your team or in your company
I’ll be a little transparent here. I believe we were all created by a Creator. But sometimes I think, “wouldn’t it have been easier to just make everyone the same?” I mean, from an efficiency standpoint it just makes sense. If you want to make a bunch of people, design one and just copy that.
But that is actually what makes us so special. No one is the same. Think about it. If I played a five second audio clip of someone you knew just saying random things, you could pick out their voice… out of billions in this world.
And every time I think that we’ve come up with everything new in this world or used up all the great ideas… boom, here comes something new and different.
In my 25 years in manufacturing, this has been one of my favorite things to see. Yeah, welding robots are cool. And yes, riding on top of elevators to learn how they work was fun. And sure, traveling to another country to verify a new machine was incredible.
But topping all of that has been witnessing the breadth of personality and creativity and life experience and humor and strength and ideas and heart within all of the people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside.
I know it’s cliche to say that “people are our most important asset” but it’s true… if you’ll let it be.
That said, I’ve also seen so much potential go wasted and so many great ideas stay bottled up and so many much optimism get squashed when that most important asset doesn’t truly get valued and used to it’s full potential.
In the coming episodes, you’ll find that I talk about people a lot. How they’re wired. What makes them tick. How to truly listen to them, encourage them, empower them, not only get the most out of them but help them to get the most out of themselves.
Your people truly can be your most important asset. If you’ll let them. I want to help you do that.
I’m not an expert on people, but I have a heart for them and a brain wiring that has helped me connect deeply and tap into their lives and what fills their cup.
So, I hope you’ll join me in this journey as we look to harness the power and potential of those humans you rub shoulders with every day.
The robots? Well, they’ll do fine on their own.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode.
I can’t wait to connect with you again tomorrow
by Shawn | Feb 22, 2021 | Podcast
Let me say up front here that if you are a robot listening today… this episode is not for you. Go ahead and do something else while we talk for a few minutes about how awesome humans are.
No offense to you. You’re amazing too and can automate and pick stuff up and weld things and even dance now, apparently, but this episode is for the people. So, be on your way (even though I know you’ve already tapped into this feed, transcribed it and have scanned it for errors.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s you and I just talk for a few minutes, human to human.
One of the things in life that I’m most fascinated with… is you. A human being. I mean, probably not you specifically since I’ve most likely never met you. But no doubt, I’d feel the same if I met you.
But humans in general are just amazing.
We come in all kinds of shapes sizes, skin colors, personalities, senses of humor (or lack thereof), passions, skills, and more.
I believe that you were created for a reason. You were designed and planned, and you bring something unique and vital to the world around you.
The same is true for each of the people on your team or in your company
I’ll be a little transparent here. I believe we were all created by a Creator. But sometimes I think, “wouldn’t it have been easier to just make everyone the same?” I mean, from an efficiency standpoint it just makes sense. If you want to make a bunch of people, design one and just copy that.
But that is actually what makes us so special. No one is the same. Think about it. If I played a five second audio clip of someone you knew just saying random things, you could pick out their voice… out of billions in this world.
And every time I think that we’ve come up with everything new in this world or used up all the great ideas… boom, here comes something new and different.
In my 25 years in manufacturing, this has been one of my favorite things to see. Yeah, welding robots are cool. And yes, riding on top of elevators to learn how they work was fun. And sure, traveling to another country to verify a new machine was incredible.
But topping all of that has been witnessing the breadth of personality and creativity and life experience and humor and strength and ideas and heart within all of the people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside.
I know it’s cliche to say that “people are our most important asset” but it’s true… if you’ll let it be.
That said, I’ve also seen so much potential go wasted and so many great ideas stay bottled up and so many much optimism get squashed when that most important asset doesn’t truly get valued and used to it’s full potential.
In the coming episodes, you’ll find that I talk about people a lot. How they’re wired. What makes them tick. How to truly listen to them, encourage them, empower them, not only get the most out of them but help them to get the most out of themselves.
Your people truly can be your most important asset. If you’ll let them. I want to help you do that.
I’m not an expert on people, but I have a heart for them and a brain wiring that has helped me connect deeply and tap into their lives and what fills their cup.
So, I hope you’ll join me in this journey as we look to harness the power and potential of those humans you rub shoulders with every day.
The robots? Well, they’ll do fine on their own.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode.
I can’t wait to connect with you again tomorrow
