Hannah McDonald and her Ontario Grade 2 summer literacy students were talking about motivation. Their discussion turned to how they could help motivate the people fighting the fires in northern Saskatchewan. Soon an idea sprang forward! They decided to send post cards to these brave souls fighting fires for many days. Great idea – now how do you carry it out?

Ms. McDonald found a way – she was able to connect with the Fire Chief in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan who readily agreed to get the post cards up to the fire zone and get them posted on the bulletin board for all to see. Then her students set down to write short clips on the post cards. In several of the cards the word “hero” was used. Imagine when those hot and dirty fire workers read those post cards! Motivated will be what keeps them going day-to-day.

Motivating people is often the opposite of creating a de-motivating situation. Imagine what would happen if:

• You reminded a person over and over again about their tardiness instead of asking what the problem is that keeps them from being on time and then asking how you might help
• You constantly tell individuals what they do wrong instead of finding what they do right and praising them for the right things
• You send a letter of reprimand to the individual’s home outlining the errors rather than sending a letter to their home expounding on how they help the company improve its bottom line
• You don’t look an employee in the eye and say “Hi, Good morning or Nice to see you” as you walk by them in the hallway instead of providing eye contact and a friendly comment
• You save your concerns about one’s outputs to the yearly performance evaluation instead of letting the employee know of a concern as it happens and providing solutions so they can be successful in the future.

Remember, your employees are your “heroes”. They are the ones who make you look good and who help the organization reach its goals. By building people up you have a greater opportunity to help them be successful.

As Bob Riley said, “Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within is revealed.” Each and every fire fighter in northern Saskatchewan and across the country is a “hero”. The more you can remind people of the value they bring as human beings the greater the opportunity for them to help you build your organization.