On Friday, we celebrated Employee Appreciation Day—a way to recognize and appreciate employees with the intent of retaining staff. For the last couple of years, we have provided breakfast tacos and shared a word of gratitude for our team. It’s a great way to get the team together and say, “Thank you.”
For some, this is expressing their language of appreciation (see my post summarizing Gary Chapman’s The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace).
However, this approach doesn’t work for everyone, and that’s the focus of today’s post. I’ve often encouraged leaders to “Go Beyond the Golden Rule” when leading teams. The Golden Rule says, “Treat other people the way you want to be treated.” But if you lead a diverse team, not everyone will want your kind of treatment!
That’s where Tony Allesandra and Michael O’Connor’s The Platinum Rule comes in. It says, “Do unto others as they’d like done unto them.” In other words, treat others the way they want to be treated. That means, you have to get to know your team members and their preferences!
Click here to learn more about The Platinum Rule