Issue 736 - How Do Consideration and Appreciation Improve Team Performance?


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 13	Issue 736
Craig Impelman Speaking \| Championship Coaches \| Champion's Leadership Library Login
HOW DO CONSIDERATION AND APPRECIATION IMPROVE TEAM PERFORMANCE? John Wooden Video Clip (1 min. 8 sec.): Coach Wooden is asked: "What made you choose to become a teacher and coach?" Terry Donahue and John Wooden How Do Consideration and Appreciation Improve Team Performance? In his New York Times Best Seller Leaders Eat Last, leadership guru, Simon Sinek, explains why environments built on consideration and appreciation consistently outperform those driven by fear or self-interest this way: "When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute." That distinction is important. Cultures grounded in consideration and appreciation do more than improve morale—they unlock contribution, cooperation, and sustained performance. Here are six reasons why building such an environment matters, whether you are leading a business, coaching a team, or guiding an organization. 1. People work better when they feel their contribution matters. When appreciation is present, people don’t feel interchangeable. They understand that what they do has value and impact. That awareness increases pride, care, and attention to detail. People tend to do better work when they know their effort is noticed and respected. 2. People are able to work well together even when personalities don’t align. Teams don’t require friendship to function at a high level; they require shared standards. Consideration and appreciation establish behavioral expectations that transcend personal likes and dislikes. John Wooden demonstrated this clearly on the basketball court. On his teams, anytime you received a pass that led to a basket, you were required to point to the passer and acknowledge it—every time. Coach Wooden coached teams where everyone got along and teams where they didn’t, but on every team, players acknowledged the pass regardless of personal relationships. Appreciation was tied to behavior, not emotion. At the same time, Coach eliminated negative behavior by insisting players never criticize a teammate. By removing negativity and requiring visible appreciation, he built teams that played together on the court even when they weren’t close off it. 3. You create clarity around what "good" looks like. Thoughtful appreciation signals which behaviors help the team succeed. Over time, people no longer guess what matters; they see it reinforced. That clarity improves consistency and reduces confusion without constant correction. 4. You increase trust and reduce self-protection. In cultures lacking appreciation, people protect themselves—their ideas, reputation, and status. When consideration is present, fear diminishes. People collaborate more freely and focus energy on improvement rather than self-preservation. 5. You encourage the sharing and improvement of best practices. The most effective appreciation goes beyond "good job." You explain to the person you are acknowledging why a behavior mattered and how it contributed to the bigger picture. That clarity allows others to learn from it, encourages repetition, and motivates people to search for additional ways to contribute. Appreciation becomes a multiplier: learning spreads and performance compounds. It creates a resource for best practices. 6. When appreciation and consideration are systematic, they create a true competitive advantage. These qualities don’t just make a workplace more pleasant. When embedded into how an organization operates, how roles are valued, how behavior is reinforced, and how learning is shared, they become performance drivers. Organizations that do this consistently tap into more creativity, discretionary effort, and collective problem-solving. Over time, this becomes a requirement for reaching full potential, not an optional cultural extra. Coach Wooden liked this quote to remind us that success and fulfillment are inseparable from how we treat others: "There’s a mystical law of nature that the three things mankind craves most—freedom, happiness, and peace of mind—cannot be attained without giving them to someone else." Reflect on this idea of consideration and appreciation. How are you doing? Write it down. Share it with someone on your team. Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 736. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 736. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE One by One One by one the sands are flowing, One by one the moments fall: Some are coming, some are going; Do not strive to grasp them all. One by one thy duties wait thee; Let thy whole strength go to each; Let no future dreams elate thee; Learn thou first what these can teach. One by one,—bright gifts of heaven,— Joys are sent thee here below; Take them readily when given; Ready be to let them go. One by one thy griefs shall meet thee; Do not fear an armed band; One will fade as others greet thee,— Shadows passing through the land. Every hour that fleets so slowly Has its task to do our bear: Luminous the crown and holy, When each gem is set with care. Hours are golden links, God's token Reaching heaven; but one by one Take them, lest the chain be broken Ere the pilgrimage be done. Adelaide Anne Proctor (1825-1864)
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