Praise for a Job Well Done Rewards

Kim Ades
Published: 05/09/2011
Posted by: RET Staff

I made someone`s day last week. How do I know? She told me.

I had a bit of time to kill before an appointment and I was starving, so I stopped off at a nearby deli for a quick bite to eat. I had my notebook with me and started to think about the content for the leadership course that I am coaching in a few weeks. I was looking for words to describe leadership skills. Coming up a bit short, I asked a waitress who was wandering around the following question: "What makes your boss a good leader?" She thought for a moment, and then proceeded to give me a list, which I wrote down.

After my meal, I bumped into the owner of the deli (the waitress's boss) and I shared my findings with her. She was absolutely dumbfounded and delighted. She wanted to know why I asked the question and who I was. She wanted to know what I do for a living and asked for my card.

It was a haphazard encounter, but it was one that was immensely rewarding and insightful for me. Events like this trigger epiphanies, and slowly they formulate strategies that turn into implemented ideas.

So what does all this have to do with everyday life? Everything.