Hug Your Leader

August 4, 2008 by Kim.

We recently lost a highly respected member of our senior IT management team. It happened quite fast after a short battle with cancer. Mark was otherwise young and energetic and an avid golfer. His staff members and me had the utmost respect for him as did the users he served and supported.

This whole experience got me to thinking about how we often let the day-to-day get the best of us. So much so that we don’t take the time to recognize those around us who are exceptional at what they do. We rarely tell our leaders they’re doing a good job or take the time to understand what they’re going through if things don’t seem up to par. We tend to assume they’ll always be there and always performing at those exceptional levels.

I admit it’s a huge blessing as a manager to know you have team members you can rely on. Mark was one of those. I could hand off an assignment or project to him and know the work was going to get done.  I didn’t have to follow up or worry whether we going to meet the deadline or not. But I think the last time I told him what a great job he was doing was at his annual performance review and that was months ago.

A few of the people that reported to Mark have expressed similar sentiments. They wonder why they didn’t tell Mark, when he was alive and well at work, that they thought the world of him. They wondered why they didn’t tell him they appreciated his quick wit and ability to make decisions.

Fortunately for many of us, we had the opportunity to express our appreciation in the few weeks prior to Mark’s passing. But what if his passing would have been instant and we never had the chance?

Tell your leaders and those you care for how much you appreciate them today. Let them know you think they do a great job. Don’t wait another moment.

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