I stopped and thanked her for being available for our staff. 

“Leslie must have had a really good spirit,” she said. “There is a lot of love here for her.”

Today, I am thankful for the 19+ years I experienced that really good spirit.

Leslie and I worked together on and off as each of us changed roles over the years.  For most of the last ten years, she was a customer service supervisor on my leadership team.  We both were committed to the company’s owner and the growth of the business.  We both had a passion for customer service and our team members’ success.  Leslie and I would often exchange stories and share new photos of our children, marvelling at how much they had grown and how old we were getting!

One of my front line customer service staff stopped in my office yesterday to let me know she was sorry for the loss of my “close friend.”  That gave me pause, because Leslie and I did not socialize outside of work.  When I tried to down-play the reference, she said,

“But, you were close work friends.  Everyone needs a friend at work, and you’ve lost yours.”

Thank you, Leslie, for being my work friend. You will be missed.

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Monday evening, a front line customer service representative from one of my teams sent me a lovely email, sharing a story about a friend of his.  The crux of the story was that while training for a local 5k, the runner learned important life lessons; namely, the difference between “not quitting” and “keeping on.”

The last lines of the story have stuck with me since.  I shared them with all of my teams in this week’s Wednesday Wisdom (weekly quote posting on our internal portal.)  A new co-worker was having a really rough day found some meaning in the quote.  And, here I am, on Thank You Thursday, still thinking about it.

I hope you’ll be thankful to read it, too:

Somehow, in the midst of the struggle of the run itself, something deeper in me focused on an un-lowered bar of measurement.  I didn’t win the race on the road…but something was won in my head and in my heart…

And that something is at the root of hope that what my dreamer’s eye sees will one day be fully and finally realized – bar not lowered an inch. And that is what keeps me keeping on.

Keep on.

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Personally and professionally, I have grown more through my conversations with Susan than I possibly could have imagined.

Today was no different.  After exchanging hugs and catching up on our children, we started talking about work, life, challenges, and opportunities.  Susan has a knack – no, a skill – for bringing people to a place of clarity.  She always listens carefully, asks the right questions and helps me see the answers that were always there.

One of my many favorite Susan teachings is: You can’t ‘fix’ the past.  It’s over.  It’s done. You can, however, create a new future.  Then, she helps you discover what might be possible for you in that future.

Today, I am thankful for people like Susan, who generously help others find their authentic best selves.

Do you have a “Susan” in your life?  How has that person helped you grow? 

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On the way home last night, I found my exhausted self being sucked in to the downward spiral of “Woe is me” self- talk.  Fortunately, I also have enough self-awareness to see where I was heading.  I stopped, almost as soon as I started.

I thought about the millions of people who don’t have a job at all and would be thrilled to have too much work to do.  Countless other people may never have the opportunity to travel the country and see the Rockies like I did – even if it was a business trip!  Hundreds of thousands people have also struggled with the real estate market the last few years; we are in a great position now.  We are lucky to have so many options for my next home.  I am blessed to have all that “stuff” that needs to be packed.

We all have days and even weeks like the one I described above.  It’s all in our perspective, though, right?  We can choose to wallow in self pity or we can choose gratitude.  I choose gratitude.

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The scenery is incredible.  Living in the relatively flat Ohio landscape, the Rockies are a sight to behold.  Today, we are driving across the state and I’ve been told that the scenery will be even more spectacular.  I can’t wait.

I’m meeting really good people, too.  Hard-working, salt-of-the-earth kind of folks.  They care about each other, they want to do well, they want to make a difference, they are excited about the opportunities of our growing company.

Today, I am thankful for the reminder that most people simply want to add value.

Yesterday, I met with someone who had recently been promoted to a frontline team leadership position.  I asked her what was the most challenging part of her new position and what was the most rewarding.  Her answers?  The most challenging for her is the mastering the multi-tasking it takes to be successful.  The most rewarding?  (This is as close a quote as I can recall…)

I feel like I’m really making a difference.  I’m helping other people be successful.  I feel like I’m adding value.

How important for all of us to remember. 

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Tomorrow is Administrative Professionals Day.  I don’t think our office is any different than most when it comes to the value of our administrative professional, a.k.a. Stacie*.  Anyone who needs to know almost anything, find almost anyone, or generally accomplish the impossible knows that she is one to count on.

She handles a wide variety of duties from executive travel arrangements to coordinating community giving events.  She probably knows more than anyone about the business because everyone trusts her with important, often confidential, information, challenges and projects.  She listens with a smile, follows through on every commitment,  and never says, “that’s not my job.”

She deserves much more than we can give her, but that’s not a reason to just let the day go by.  Let’s create a “gratitude jam!”  I’m challenging everyone to write a notecard, send an email or stop by her desk and share gratitude for whatever she has done to help you – and you know she has done something!

*Fill in your administrative professional’s name here!

Blog readers – - -

If you’re lucky enough to have an administrative professional that you can’t imagine working without, be sure to express your gratititude and appreciation.  On the way in to work tomorrow, stop and pick up some fresh flowers, write a heartfelt card, and send him/her home early.  Then, try to do the work yourself.  Whether you manage it well or not, you’ll really be filled with gratitude on Thursday when he/she returns!  (And, since that will be “Thank you Thursday,” you know what to do!)

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. ~Author Unknown

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Today, I am thankful to be old enough to remember Saturday afternoons watching American Bandstand.

I can’t help but smiling as I think about watching the dancers so I could learn the newest steps.  I remember the weekly Rate-A-Record segment; “It’s got a good beat and is easy to dance to” was a popular score justification.  Everyone wanted to be like the cool kids on American Bandstand.

Then there are the contributions made to popular music, introducing rock ‘n roll to the masses as the first show to merge popular music and TV.  Songs introduced on the show one week were top forty hits the next.  There are landmark music history moments, too.  Dick Clark changed the ‘all white” rule of the previous host and provided a national stage for Little Anthony, Chuck Berry, Chubby Checker and more.  On the air for thirty years, American Bandstand introduced stars from Buddy Holly to Madonna, the Everly Brothers to Donna Summer.

Although there are numerous other television shows that Dick Clark is responsible for, American Bandstand is what I will most remember him for, with much gratitude and appreciation.

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The principal of the high school happens to be a friend of ours.  We commented about the new bleachers, new fences along the first and third base lines, new sidewalks around the bleachers, and evergreens behind the bleachers.

Today, I am thankful for parents and other community members who work hard to support and benefit local schools.

The principal proceeded to tell us that the athletic boosters paid for the enhancements.  They have been working on a master plan for a few years to get the field ready and compliant with the requirements to host high school tournaments.  The parents have raised a lot of money and have donated some of their own.  They also invested “sweat equity” in many ways from planting trees to pouring and raking concrete.  No tax dollars were used in these improvements.

They still have a ways to go until their work is done, but the hope is that by next year, they will qualify as a host school.  Margaret Mead is often quoted as saying, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  Indeed.

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In honor of the start of the major league baseball season, this week’s Tuesday Tidbit post included several baseball quotes that can also be applied to the workplace.  After reading the message at work, one of my team members sent me the following email:

You are just a wonder, El.  This one really sums up the Client Services ‘world’ you created/maintained here at (the office), and it really can’t be stated much better:

“Be on time. Bust your butt. Play smart. And have some laughs along the way.” -Whitey Herzog

You know what?  I’m thankful to be described that way!

What sports quote would describe your leadership style?  Or, maybe a sports movie title?

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Last Thursday, Steve Farber, one of my favorite authors, tweeted:

An invitation to participate in Thank You Thursdays: http://ow.ly/2PASG

Anything Steve recommends immediately piques my interest, so I clicked the link and was taken to The Modern Servant Leader blog. Blog author Benjamin Lichtenwalner proposed the idea of taking a few moments every Thursday to thank someone for something, thereby helping develop the practice of gratitude. Lichtenwalner gives his reasoning for choosing Thursday, suggestions on who to thank, how to thank, and how often to express thanks.

At the time, I was trying to think of a great way to wrap up Customer Service Appreciation Week.  After reading Lichtenwalner’s post, I decided that the best way to end the week was to actually extend appreciation all year long by introducing Thank-You Thursdays. 

One way for me to express myself is through this blog.  So, beginning today, every Thursday I will offer thanks of some sort. 

I hope you’ll be inspired to join the gratitude movement!  As quoted on Lichtenwalner’s post,

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. -William Arthur Ward