Appreciating Your Neighbours

Sebastien
Paquet uses Thanksgiving as a trigger to start putting into words what it is
that other people add to his life: So on this occasion I've started a Neighborhood
Tour page where I try to acknowledge how the various people listed in my
sidebar influence my thinking and actions. Expressing thanks and
acknowledgements are very important in creating a knowledgesharing culture.
Often it is by giving such acknowledgements that others become really aware
where their strengths lie, and what it is that they are good at. Seldom have I
learnt more than when friends or colleagues shared their observations on me with
me. And it is on such occasions that became clear to me what I had that was
worthwhile to share. A common enough observation is that people say "sure
sharing knowledge is a good thing, but there's just nothing that I can
contribute". Constructive criticism, sincere praise, and thanks, to me also are
expressions of trust, a confirmation of strong ties. And even though we say
"thank you" a lot routinely, never underestimate the power it might have. Here's
a little anecdote from my own experience: "A few years ago a new secretary came
to work at our company and she came to me after a few weeks to tell me how very
nice it was that I always said "thank you" to her whenever I asked her something
to do. This wasn't the way she was brought up, wasn't the way she was treated in
her earlier jobs, and it wasn't the way my colleagues were behaving. I never
thought twice about it before, but since then I've noticed that people are a lot
more eager to share their experiences with me than some colleagues....all by
just saying "thank you", something my parents taught me was just appropiate to
say. Since that time I always make sure to respond positively when someone says
thank you to me, in the hope that it might trigger the same effect with them."
So, hopefully one day I'll show up in Seb's Neighbourhood Tour. Not only because
it is always nice to hear you're appreciated, but also because it is another
chance to learn more about myself. And of course I'll be sure to thank him for
it!

Permalink
(posted by Ton Zijlstra at December 1, 2002 08:13 PM)