Five Minute Friday: REWARD
I am really motivated by incentive programs. If the “accelerated reader” program had existed back when I was a kid, I’m sure I would have had ALL the points.
As I’ve gotten older, though, it’s the rewards that can’t be quantified that matter more.
I won’t share verbatim, out of respect to the person who said it, but someone told me recently that the way I handled our work-related relationship made them feel like it was more meaningful than just doing a job.
I used to bring little videos or share items to my staff meetings at Healthy Kids, hoping to give the people in my unit something more than the list of what needed to be done or task-related directives (whether they be compliments or more constructive comments).
When I look back on that time, perhaps those additions to the way I managed did supplement the experience, but there were some pieces of the management situation that were more basic that I wasn’t handling, so I think the “feel-good” stuff may have seemed like just that much sweet frosting on a cake that turned out to be made only of air.
Maybe that all happened for a reason (something I’ve said repeatedly over the last year or so). Whatever the case, being told that something I said or the way I handled a work relationship made a difference is a much better reward than any sticker, tchotchke or intangible token could ever be.
Welcome to this week’s Five Minute Friday. Our instructions, via creator Kate Motaung: “Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.” (But I can’t resist spell checking, as you can imagine.)
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
THIS: “Whatever the case, being told that something I said or the way I handled a work relationship made a difference is a much better reward than any sticker, tchotchke or intangible token could ever be.” So true!
Right? Slack may seem like an impersonal platform, because we aren’t face to face there, but some pretty personally monumental things get said there. <3
The intangible always surpasses the tangible. Thanks for sharing truth!
Right? A lesson I’m grateful to have learned (or to still be learning…)
Knowing you’ve made a difference in someone’s life is a wonderful reward! Thanks for sharing!
It is! 🙂