Remember to Say ‘Thank You’

A parent in my daughter’s school shouted to me from his car “Your LinkedIn Posts are very inspiring, Thank you!”

He had been reading my posts on LinkedIn for a while and he wanted to let me know he was finding them helpful along his career journey.

I smiled and thanked him for the kind words – also shouting from my car

As we finished our ‘drive-by conversation’ he said to me that “when I’m ready to make a career move, I’ll reach out to you”.

What he didn’t know was that earlier that morning, I was not feeling motivated about posting on LinkedIn as I questioned how much good it was doing for people.

His literal ‘shoutout’ to me gave me the motivation I needed at the time. I don’t think he knew how much impact it had on me.

I’m glad he didn’t think to himself “I’m sure Tom knows he’s making a difference, I don’t need to tell him!”

As I reflected on this, it made me wonder how many times I have missed an opportunity to appreciate a colleague, customer or family member.

Since then I’ve tried to be more intentional in saying thank you and appreciating others for their contributions.

When next you have an opportunity to appreciate someone at work or business, don’t assume somebody else will do it.

Take the initiative and give a ‘shoutout!’

Most times when everybody thinks somebody will do it, nobody ends up doing it.