Two weeks ago one of our partners did us a good turn. I was touched and amazed. It wasn’t something I had anticipated. I thanked our partner and went about my business.
Yesterday it suddenly dawned me how that one good turn had influenced my behavior. We’ve been working with this partner for a number of years and when the opportunity arises I always recommend their programs. But in the past two weeks I have mentioned them far more frequently. At some level I’m trying to say “thank you”, but for the most part this was entirely unconscious.
When I realized how my behavior had changed, I got to thinking about the impact of good turns in the workplace. What happens when a manager fully acknowledges an employee by giving him or her credit for an idea? What happens when a colleague passes some meaningful work along to a co-worker with no thought of payback?
I am reminded of a manager of mine from many years ago. He was quick to sing the praises of his employees and publicly acknowledged our ideas – even if he had coached us in developing those ideas. He always looked for opportunities to showcase our performance. This man was very well loved and those of us who worked for him were more than happy to put in extra effort. His simple acts of human decency produced real and concrete results.
In case you are interested, the partner organization I mentioned in the first paragraph is the Writing and Publishing Program within the Continuing Studies Department of Simon Fraser University.
Large organizations are filled with people doing good turns every day and increasing the profitability of their organizations.
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