I got a lovely email from one of my staff members this morning. Her son was sick recently, and she chose to work from home so that she could look after him. In her email, she thanked me for ‘birthing’ NGC and making it the kind of place where people can do their work from anywhere.
Felt good. Really good. When I saw her this morning, I acknowledged receiving her note. She said, “You thank us all the time, and it occured to me that you probably don’t get much thanks in return.” She’s right. I don’t expect appreciation, but it’s nice when it comes in an authentic, personal way.
Does appreciation run in all directions at your workplace?
All human beings crave appreciation, and despite some evidence to the contrary, our leaders are humans, too. IMHO (In my humble opinion), many employees have adopted a paternalistic attitude towards their employers. Employees expect their supervisor to do all the appreciating and recognizing - all the parenting - but they neglect to consider the impact their words of appreciation would have on their leaders.
So, I encourage all of us - when our leaders (at work, in our community, in our personal circles) do something for which we can appreciate them, take the time to write an email or drop a note in the mail to them. Let’s create cultures where we catch people at their best.
More:
- One of my favorite ways to reach out to folks is with the playful, hilarious (and free!) Hoops and Yoyo e-cards at the Hallmark e-store. (Thanks, Leah Anglin, for turning me onto these!)
- In a previous set of blogs, I talked about the five A’s of work relationships: Acceptance and Affection , and Allowance, Appreciation and Attention .
