Charles Dudley Warner was an American essayist, novelist, and co-author with Mark Twain. With Christmas this past Sunday, the quote was appropriate. In a day and age of commercialized everything, people think that the dollar value of a gift is the important feature. "Look at how much I spent on you!" However, most of use would rather receive a gift that indicates the person knows us. Something that shows thought and knowledge of the recipient. These are the truly treasured gifts.
From a leadership perspective your praise can be considered a gift. Are you being consciouentious of your words? Did you choose the environment where the words would be shared? In fact, these thoughts should probably be front and center in most of your interactions with the team. After all, your goal is to build up your team and remove obstacles. Best not to become one yourself.
What is the most appropriate gift you've received? Is there a gift that shows someone really gets you? For me, one of the best gifts I've received came from my wife. I have a lot of t-shirts with significant memories attached to them, but they get stained and thread-bare over time. She slowly collected the shirts and made this for me:
It's a patchwork blanket made of shirts from different experiences of my life. I love it! And it will continue to grow as the years progress. Thanks Erin!
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