Doing Things Right Gets You…
Recognition Ignored.
Unfortunately, most of us as leaders tend to focus on what’s wrong, or who’s wrong, not on what’s right, or who is doing the right things.
Yesterday I took my daughter to a local coffee establishment for a hot chocolate. I just wanted to talk to her, and encourage her. You see, she is the kind of kid who does a lot of things right. She does her homework conscientiously, doesn’t get in trouble at school, tries to help other kids obey the rules, etc.
But what she sees in her classroom, and sometimes in her home, makes her feel unappreciated. She hears lectures all the time about things that she didn’t have anything to do with, endures punishments designed for other kids but meted out on the entire class…
So I said to her, “I know it’s hard sometimes to do things right even when other people aren’t. I really appreciate it, though, that you keep doing that even though it’s difficult, or even when other people keep getting attention for the wrong reasons.”
True to form, she said, “Yeah, sometimes,” but practically immediately started talking about something else. It just wasn’t that big of a deal to her. She does the right things because that’s who she is.
As her Dad and as a leader, though, I have to make sure she knows I’m proud of her for that, and that I notice. And a cup of hot chocolate and a few encouraging words are a small price to pay for assurance that she does.
