Good Darts

You might not be into darts (I’m not) but you may still know about the sixteen-year-old darts sensation, Luke Littler. He almost won the World Darts Championship recently, reaching the final. He also often hits a nine-darter (see doctor google if you don’t know) and clearly has an amazing career ahead of him.

What Luke has – along with incredible talent and passion for this particular game, of course – is an ability to block out the noise. To ignore the crowd that are constantly shouting and cheering in the background. To remember what’s important and deliver on what matters: hitting treble 20, landing a double or, best of all, finishing on the bullseye.

As a manager (and here’s the segue you wanted), you will often get distracted by the noise around you. The busyness. The meetings. The staff demanding your attention. The need for more customers. The daily task list staring back at you, pleading to be finished. Unlike Luke, we let the noise affect us. And we forget one of the crucial basics of being a great manager: saying a simple “Thanks”, to a staff member who has done a good job.

I’m amazed when I read comments and posts from people at work who say their boss never says “thank you”, “well done”, or … as one of my friends is known for saying to his staff when they do something particularly well … “good darts.” Why does he say that? It’s just his way of expressing gratitude. And yes, he used to play darts a bit, where the phrase is used to acknowledge decent play by your opponent. But here’s the kicker: when he does it, it’s sincere. And he doesn’t do it all the time. His staff? They value it.

Two ends of the spectrum: not enough, or far too much. Too much gushing, fawning, or overkill and guess what? Your staff will know it’s insincere and the damage will be huge. Thank you’s are similar to awards; you can over-do them. One company I worked for used to throw awards around like confetti. Almost every week, somebody ‘won’ an award. To me, they became meaningless – they were far too regular and automated (aka: type in the winner’s name, press a button and hey presto, out prints a certificate). They actually DE-valued the effort that a staff member had put in, which is crazy. All that was needed? A simple & genuine “thanks” to that person, from their manager.

And that’s this week’s simple message: recognise your people; don’t forget to say thank you. Or thanks. Or nice job. Or well done. Or whatever is your equivalent of “good darts”. Not necessarily every day. Or even every week. But when it counts. When it means something. Be consistent and your staff will know it’s real. If you want them to work hard – and what manager doesn’t want that? – then you need to recognise and voice it when they deliver their best work. Awards? Maybe once a year, if awards rock your boat. Then they’ll be extra special. Which is what an award should be, yes?

Good darts. I like it. I reckon Luke does too.