Beyond Gratitude: Show People They Matter

Show people they matter before they close their heart. An open heart strives to grow, enjoys being coached, and welcomes honest feedback. Feeling significant fuels motivation.

Genuine interest in team members energizes engagement. But when people feel devalued, they focus on daily minimum requirements.

Show people they matter before they close their heart. Image of a person pushing someone away.

Stories:

Concentrate on people more than performance during one-on-ones. Let people know they matter by exploring their story.

Stories shape life.

People like you when you respect their stories. Image of an admiring dog.

Use a 6-Panel Storyboard to Show People They Matter:

Send an email explaining that you’re learning more about everyone on the team. Ask them to create a 6-panel storyboard, if they’re comfortable. The goal is reflecting on formative moments.

Divide a piece of paper into 6 parts. Draw an image of a formative event in each square. Emphasize this isn’t an art project. Stick figures are fine. Use these prompts to get started.

  1. When you share childhood stories, which one comes to mind most frequently?
  2. What childhood experience taught you something you still live by?
  3. What past experience shaped you?
  4. What struggle tested and influenced you?
  5. What event or person made you see life or yourself differently?
  6. Who in your family had the most influence on you? How?
  7. Who outside your family, influenced you?
  8. What conversation from your past do you still remember?
  9. Looking over your life, what recurring moments of happiness/sadness do you notice?
  10. What advice have you received that has stayed with you for years?
Each panel represents a formative story.

One-on-ones:

Discuss the 6-Panel Storyboard during one-on-ones. Help people appreciate themselves and explain how they matter.

Debrief by asking…

  1. How is this story showing up in your life today?
  2. How has this story changed you?
  3. List one positive quality in each panel that you developed because of that experience.
  4. Based on your formative stories, what does bringing your best self to life mean?

How can leaders show people they matter?

What prompts or debrief questions show people they matter?

Author’s note: Many coaches use the Lifeline Exercise as a reflection tool. Stan Endicott taugth me the 6-Panel Storyboard exercise a few years ago. Both are useful. They serve different purposes. I like the use of sketches. I like the limitation to six formative stories.