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Pen Pals | |
June 17th, 2018 | |
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I was looking into some leadership and management training stuff | |
recently [0] and it's been really helping me make progress as | |
a team leader. There's plenty you can learn on-the-job, but it's | |
helpful to get good advice from a trusted source. | |
[0] LEADx | |
While looking at content on engagement I ran across a really | |
enlightening piece of information. People tend to value praise | |
based on the effort put in to giving it. | |
At my current company we've gone through a lot of different | |
systems for calling out exceptional work. We've had some official | |
things, some local office things, manager made-up things, and | |
they've had wildly different reactions. Our current system is | |
a corporate level point system with a rewards site where you can | |
log-in and pick out items you want with your accrued points. It | |
is, almost universally, ignored. It means nothing to individuals | |
getting points. There's no real public system for acknowledging | |
peers. It's pretty much useless. | |
Contrast that with our most successful system: an oversized | |
post-card that had some award blurb stuff up top and a big open | |
text area underneath where a manager would hand-write what you did | |
to make a difference. They were peer nominated and manager | |
approved. We announced them at "town hall" meetings so everyone | |
would hear about your awesomeness as it was read out. There was | |
a small financial award with it, but it was secondary. People kept | |
those things and put them up on their desks. | |
This all brought me back to an on-again-off-again conversation | |
thread that floats around gopherspace: comments. I love when you | |
guys and gals send me an email about something I wrote, or post | |
a reply or acknowledgement in your own phlog. It means so much to | |
me because you put in the effort. It wasn't a drive by "like" | |
button. In managerial terms you didn't just give me a nod and say, | |
"nice work," you took time out of your day to write me a note. | |
That's awesome. | |
It also makes my mind wander the path to hand-written letters. I'm | |
an infrequent letter writer, but when I write or receive one it's | |
always special. I have a bag in my office of every hand-written | |
letter I've ever gotten. | |
My handwriting isn't great. I don't always have brilliant things | |
to say in a letter. Honestly, the content isn't all that much | |
different from an email, except I know it will take some time to | |
reach the person and responding is more difficult. I try to say | |
things more completely. I invest more time and energy into it. | |
I have to buy a stamp, after all. | |
I'd like to write some letters again. Any of you up for it? My | |
contact info is in my About page [1] including encryption options | |
if you feel like sending me an address or PO box. | |
[1] About |