I Know Your Name

My oldest daughter’s transition from a small private elementary school to our large public high school was a little challenging the first few weeks. She wanted desperately to make friends with some of the kids that she observed across the room – but didn’t know how to begin.

I remember telling her to use their names whenever she said “hi.” Just adding their name (“Hi, Laura”) would be much more affective than a simple “hi.”

Using a person’s name is very powerful. It says, “I know who you are – you have value to me as a unique person.”

As managers of people, knowing and using their names in conversation is one powerful way we can communicate the value and worth of that person within the organization. This basic truth shows through in this story, which landed in my inbox this morning. I don’t know the origin of the actual quote, but it was sent to me by a company called Peaceful Daily, (whose motto is “Think good. Eat whole. Walk far.” Nice). Here’s the quote:

"During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. "Absolutely," the professor said. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy." - Joann C. Jones.

Good reminder to those of us who proclaim that we value our people most of all.

Thoughts on Motivation

Summer seems to be a time for a bit of the hot-weather-doldrums. You know what I mean: your team is working short a lot to accommodate vacations and your own head may be really wishing your body was at the beach instead of in the office!

Now that we’re on the downhill side of summer, I’m thinking about September. It’s a great time to start new things. And just between us, we need to start some new things to get the energy back in this office. We need to refocus and re-energize.

So I was excited to get the link to a great little video on the topic of motivation in my email from a client (Jason Hess, Elite Care – check out this company if you want to see motivation and innovation in action! They title their website “The Future of Elder Care” – check it out.). It’s interesting – and worth the 10 minutes it will take you to view it. Here’s to a busy, productive, exciting fall!