Okay, so first and foremost, I want to apologize for my blogging slothfulness lately. I've had a crazy two weeks, but things have balanced out once more, so I'm officially back in action.
One of the things that has been keeping me from blogging is the research I've been doing in the area of Flow State. A LOT of it applies to student leadership, but the first thing that jumped out at me is the data showing that unexpected positive praise or results lead to enhanced performance, motivation, enjoyment, and concentration. All pretty cool stuff to enhance, if you ask me.
So what does this mean for us? It means that an unanticipated thank you note, present, or surprise member appreciation bash will probably be a much better morale booster than an officially announced recognition ceremony. It also means that if we want to get the most out of this psychological effect, we should work our "unexpected praise" into our everyday routines rather than treating rewards and recognition as a separate category.
Oh, and by the way, you guys are really amazing readers and commenters. I really feel like we have the beginings of a supportive and inspiring community here :)
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