Some clouds have a darker side to them but like much of the country now, there is light in sight. Including at our household, where all members aged 15+ are now vaccinated.
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A friend and colleague shared a 2002 HBR article today titled Make Your Values Mean Something. Among other things, it made me reflect on how scarce authentic appreciation of a fellow human for their efforts appears to be in the work world. The larger corporates I’ve come across seem to mandate that people thank each other, even a target to meet. There’s often an inability to acknowledge by the powers that be (who likely have never used it themselves) that the systems ostensibly designed to keep this thanking business together are so full of friction that few use it, leading to more mandates. The loopy loop goes on.
Upon reflection, I have found it easier to say something in a meeting than to do it in writing. I’ve also let the memory of the best thank you exercise we did together as a team fall into the recesses of my mind. It was a simple exercise: pick any one person in the team that you were thankful to for something they did for you, and tell it to them in writing. Everyone got multiple mails. Everyone without exception, expressed how valued, even loved, they felt to read the words from their colleagues _____. The feeling of being on top of the world despite being in the thick of the lockdown lasted weeks.
Why don’t we do it more often? Why do I not do it more often?