Be proud of the good things you do...

·      Take pride in the things you accomplish.

·      Don’t be afraid to tell your story.

·      And toot your own horn.

 

This quote reminds me how we adapted storytelling to our employee recognition program. Historically, managers selected nominees based on criteria like attendance, performance, and standards. Over time it became more of a universal recognition rather than an award for excellence – the problem was that managers weren’t often around for the of exceptional performance or service that merited the award. So, we revamped the program and asked employees to submit their own stories of excellence in performance, service, and customer attention. We believed that the best champions and cheerleaders are the employee themselves and that they’d want to talk about the accomplishments of which they were proud. Some worried they’d embellish the story, but tall tales were hard to put over on their fellow employees. By and large, the stories they submitted were, in fact, extraordinary examples of excellence beyond our wildest expectations. Things we hadn’t noted or recognized in the past. Things they were very proud of. We often forget that personal pride is a great motivator, especially when people are encouraged to stand up and talk about how proud they are of something they’ve done. To be role models for excellence. We published their stories and watched as they inspired others. Always be proud of your accomplishments, big or small, today.

 

Ayanna Howard (born 1972): American roboticist, entrepreneur and educator currently serving as the dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University.