Recognition

How do you like to be recognized? How do you recognize those around you for the excellent work they do? How often do you get to tell them "Thank you" or give them a little note of appreciation?

Recognition is always something that I have felt is REALLY important! However, I find myself not doing it as much as I would like to. Today I have decided to take that time out of my day to recognize those that I have appreciated lately.

The first set of people would be my Resident Mentor staff. As we have had some ups and downs with staff and I have had some difficult conversations lately with some of them, I also appreciate every single one of them. Each member of my 10 RM staff brings something different to the table and each member is an essential piece of the puzzle. I used "you are an essential piece of the McBryde puzzle" during training/opening weekend to demonstrate that I look to each of them as being a piece of our team. But I haven't touched on that concept since then! I have RMs showing support for Hall Government meetings, RMs showing such strong passion for their job, RMs showing such concern for residents and helping them get more support, RMs handling difficult situations, and RMs brainstorming over and over again the new ways to reach out to their communities. This doesn't even begin to skim on what my staff has shown me so far this semester! So right now I am writing them some notes to give out during staff meetings. I am pulling together some things that I have seen in the past week from each of them and individually thanking them for that hard work! I really hope they see that I care! :-)

The second set of people I need to thank are those around me during the work day. My supervisor is wonderful and is always there to lean on. However, she is great at putting the issue back onto us and working through the problem with us so we can guide ourselves to a decision. I learned so much from her last year and learned to be so independent. And the appreciation for her methods continues this year. I struggle to see that some people on our team do not understand this type of supervision and how beneficial it is, and I try to showcase this to them. So I just wanted to personally thank my supervisor for how she has helped me and the hardwork I see her put in with everyone! I also need to thank our Administrative Assistant. She is always dealing with phone calls, questions, emails, etc. from all of us in the area and she does an excellent job on staying on top of things. I wouldn't be able to do some things if it were not for her! The rest of the team - professional staff and grad staff - have been such a strong support and we all get to work together in some way, and I wanted to thank them individually for what I see them bring to our team and what I see them support me for!

And then where has the time gone? There are so many more people to thank and to recognize. A simple "thank you" will have to do for now... but I need to be consistent with other methods of recognition/appreciation and make that time. Because at the day, I know that it feels good to get a little note, little sign, or to just hear the words of thank you.