This is a good time of year to remind yourself of the people you’re grateful for, and then let them know by writing (and delivering) a “Professional Love Note.” Don’t be surprised if it ends up being the most meaningful gift you give this year.
To get you started, try these guidelines (from The Radical Leap Re-Energized):
- Think of a specific person at work.
- List that person’s finest qualities or greatest achievements.
- Reflect on why you appreciate those qualities and achievements.
- Write the note.
- Give the note.
Even though this may start out feeling like an “assignment,” let it become a habit. Always write from your heart and express your sincere appreciation. The note bridges your words with action: you’re demonstrating love through the act of writing and delivering it.
But don’t do this because you have to; do it because you want to.
So, want to.
In my next post, I’ll share a great example of a Professional Love Note from someone in an organization that’s taken a lot of heat over the years: The US Postal Service.
Stay tuned for an Extreme Leader at USPS who just may re-define what it means to “go postal.”
These “professional love notes” do make a big difference. We all want to feel appreciated and know our work makes a difference for someone. I will definitely be writing some notes over the next few weeks!
The world can use more gratitude, and it can have amazing results. After I started my weekly Thank you Thursday post (inspired by your RT of Ben’s TYT link), one of my directors challenged his team of customer service reps to thank service providers for their outstanding service. One CSR sent a short hand written note to a vendor’s CSR, who shared it with her supervisor, who shared it, too. In the end the vendor CEO called our CEO to let him know that he was now challenging his team to share gratitude with their service partners. That’s just one of many great stories. You never can tell what’s possible by showing gratitude to others. Thanks for the continued inspiration, Steve!
The gratitude thing hit me when I was on about page 66 of “Radical Leap Re-Energized.” The impact of your message struck a chord very early on, so I’m pleased to see this post about gratitude. When I felt the gratitude thing, I immediately wrote notes of thanks to each of my employee prior to taking off a week for Thanksgiving. I didn’t have any expectations, and just hoped that my staff would feel my sincerity since I personalized each message. After delivering my cards inboxes, I was surprised that the one person, who is most challenging to me managerially, came to my office and very sweetly thanked me for my “nice note.” I got the impression that no one in her career had ever expressed themselves to her in this way. Thanks for helping me find that in myself.
TM