On my way to work I stopped and got a gift card for a team member. This individual does not work directly with me; however, she brings an incredible amount of value not only to my team but to the rest of the enterprise. She is smart. She is kind. She knows and supports the business. She is reliable. She takes the work seriously and she has a sense of humor.
She is one of the good people.
And there are many good people to be celebrated. The problem is that often we get very tangled up in what people aren't doing right or who didn't follow directions or who did this wrong - and that becomes the focus of our work and life. Yes, there are challenges that need to be dealt with - but do we spend at least as much time celebrating and emphasizing the good people as we do with those who present challenges to us?
First of all, focusing on the good people is the right thing to do: we must tell people what they are doing right. We need to underscore the foundation that makes them good. We should be unafraid to praise over and over those qualities that make them valuable to us and the remainder of the team.
After we underscore the right things they do - we must thank them. Truly they make our jobs, and everyone else's job, a little bit easier and lot more enjoyable. It is a gift that they give, we receive and we should extend authentic gratitude.
We should celebrate them. Both in our thoughts and publicly. Be unafraid to reward the good people. Sometimes you hear something akin to "But he was employee of the month last month - I can't give to him again." Yes, yes you can.
There are so many good people, yet our attention waivers toward what isn't so good. Let's re-direct; let's be thankful and celebrate the people that make life, and work, so worthwhile!
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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
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