Team activity — Specific active acknowledgment

Time required

Approximately 30 minutes.

Preparation

At least 48 hours before your meeting, ask participants the following:

For the next team meeting, we’re going to do an activity where we’ll explore different ways of responding to others. Please read the following 3 approaches so that you’re prepared to complete the activity. 

1. Acknowledgement – This could be a simple nod or “Good for you” without showing specific emotion or engagement. For example, sending an email saying  “thanks for the work” without any specific expressions of appreciation.
2. Active acknowledgement – This includes more energy and attention, such as looking the person in the eyes, even you’re on screen, and responding enthusiastically. For example, “Wow! That’s great!”
3. Specific, active acknowledgement – This approach is descriptive, meaningful and focused. It includes details about why you appreciate what the person said or did. It also discusses what you’re acknowledging them for: “You got the promotion! Opening up yourself to new possibilities has really paid off. What does this mean for you?”

Instructions

Before the session, create a document and email or file share to record the 3 levels of acknowledgement (see optional handout below). If you’re completing this activity in an online environment, you’ll need to offer more direct cues for acknowledgement. Encourage your team to turn their cameras on during the virtual meeting, but respect if they wish to proceed without them. Your words are important in this instance when acknowledging team members. 

Here are three levels of acknowledgement:

1. Acknowledgement – This could be a simple nod or “Good for you” without showing specific emotion or engagement. For example, sending an email to your team to acknowledge their work.
2. Active acknowledgement – This includes more energy and attention. For example, looking the person in the eyes and responding more enthusiastically: “Wow! That’s great!” When you set up an online meeting, look your team members in the eyes “virtually” through your webcam to actively acknowledge them. If you’re not setting up an online meeting, send a quick enthusiastic, recorded enthusiastic to your team to state your acknowledgement.
3. Specific, active acknowledgement – This approach is descriptive, meaningful and focused. It includes details about why you appreciate what the person said or did. It also discusses what you’re acknowledging them for: “You got the promotion! Opening yourself up to new possibilities has really paid off. What does this mean for you?”

Suggested wording

Let’s review the 3 types of acknowledgement I sent you. Could somebody read the first one, “acknowledgement”?

Can someone read the second one, “active acknowledgement”?

Can someone read the third one, “specific, active acknowledgement”?

We use all 3 of these. We use the first one when we’re distracted or overwhelmed;  our focus is on ourselves and not anyone else. When we use the second one, we may think we’re expressing real support, but it can sound hallow. The “Atta boy” kind of response may not be specific enough to feel sincere. But, either of these first 2 are significantly better than sarcasm or no acknowledgement at all.

The point of this activity is to help us recognize when we use each of these and to try to increase the likelihood we’ll use specific, active acknowledgement to support each other more effectively.

Let’s get started.

If a team member described being pleased because their idea for a new project was well received, they would likely appreciate your positive feedback. To offer specific, active acknowledgement, congratulate them and ask for details about how it happened, using open-ended questions while giving them your full attention. Maintain eye contact during the conversation and display a genuine positive reaction.

Let’s use the example of someone successfully facilitating a virtual cooking class to support healthy eating for coworkers. I want you to record the words you’d use to acknowledge their effort, using each of the 3 approaches explained earlier. We’ll take up your answers when you’re done.

Instructions

Here are some examples of how someone might respond for each level:

Acknowledgement: “Good job.”

Active acknowledgement: “That’s great. I’m so glad our workplace supports events like this.”

Specific, active acknowledgement: “You made that lesson both interesting and easy to follow! Your enthusiasm really made it enjoyable. Did you have fun doing it?”

Once team members have contributed some ideas, open a discussion about how the way they interact with each other can contribute to a better work environment, whether they’re meeting in person or virtually.

Suggested wording

Specific, active acknowledgement may not always be practical due to time constraints and work setting. But, when you can respond in this way, it can help create a supportive work environment for everyone. When you’re on the receiving end of specific, active acknowledgement, recognize the effort someone is making by saying something like, “I appreciate your interest and encouragement.”

Find more activities like this at Team building activities.