From my speaking and consulting over the years, I can confidently report to all of you that you know and work with many who yearn for more recognition for their contributions and talents. *A recent statistic tells us that 65% of employees say that they've never received personal appreciation in the workplace. Are you part of that 65%? Or do you know someone who is?

However, if a client is sitting in a coaching session with me bemoaning the lack of recognition received, one of my first questions is: "What can you tell me about your value? Tell me about your talents, skills, gifts and experiences that deserve recognition." You can seize a new opportunity for increased recognition and appreciation by knowing your value so well that you confidently express it and share it through your contribution to essential goals.

Here is an example. Recently, I was working with a business performance group on strategic planning. The intellect, experience, and skill of one of the members was quickly apparent as she was able to communicate information about her skills and experiences to the goals at hand. Without a trace of bragging, her words gave us information that was valuable and usable as we moved through the first two hours of work together. Another member of the group was very quiet, hardly saying a word. I had little idea of what she had to offer.  We then moved into an hour of the Personal Value Package^sm experience. In this session, each member of the team took two minutes to share his/her value as a person, to the team, and to the goals of the organization from an assessment that each had completed. The quiet member described a moment ago, quietly, but specifically shared her credentials, past experiences, values, and what the organization would lose if she left the company. I was blown away. Her background in adult learning, her perspective on program design, and her ethics were outstanding. In listening to her, I could make very specific links from her skills to the goals of the team.

Was it wrong of her not to be more expressive? Absolutely not. Is it potentially negative that she's not more expressive? Absolutely yes. Especially if, in our era of downsizing, changing, shifting, and letting go, she wants to maximize the understood value of what she offers.

Here is an exercise to use with your work group that has been powerful for many of our clients as they recognize their value to share it with others. The power is threefold. First, each employee builds personal power by thinking specifically about his/her value and writing it down. Second, there is power in sharing that information publicly. Third, the experience includes feedback from colleagues about that employee's value as a person and to the organization.

Our Personal Value Package^sm exercise begins with completing the following page:

After each group member completes this assessment, these instructions are followed: