Tell you own story...

We often tell stories of someone else’s achievements. It’s probably better to let them tell their own story.

 

·      Recalling someone’s achievement

·      Is not the same as them talking about it.

·      We may be mightily impressed with their actions

·      But they will inject pride in talking about their achievements.

·      Let people write and tell their own stories.

 

For years I oversaw an employee recognition program where supervisors would stand up and talk about their employee’s achievements. After a while it seemed that many of those supervisors would just going thru the motions because that’s what we asked them to do. One day my boss was sitting in the staff dining room listening to an employee talk about something he recently did for a customer, literally saving their life. My boss stopped and asked the employee to repeat the story – when he was done, he called the employee’s supervisor and asked if we knew anything about what he’d just learned… our answer was, ‘no’. That’s when our employee recognition program changed to one that allowed employees to submit their own stories: the best one each month was the one we recognized as the winner, complete with the fanfare and rewards we’d used in the past. Now, the stories were real, more genuine, and full of the pride of achievement. Let your employees tell their own stories today.

 

Sacheen Cruz Littlefeather (1946 – 2022): American actress, model, and Native American civil rights activist who gave the speech for Marlon Brando declining the Academy Award for his role in The Godfather.