6 November 2008
From: John
To: Tony
Subj: Learning Journal 5
What happened?
We had a lady (Karen) that had worked for our organization for many years, recently resign, and during her good bye appreciation party, many of her past accomplishments were stated, and we all agreed she had a lot to be proud of. Besides being impressed by how humble Karen was about all of her accomplishments, I was impressed the most by how she reacted when she was nominated for staff member of the month a few years ago. Besides being completely blindsided by it (even though she was more than deserving), she did something no other staff member had ever done before or since. When we went to take the picture of her receiving the award from her supervisor, she insisted that everyone in the room be in the picture. She said “I could never accomplish anything without the great teamwork from everyone in this organization.” We set up chairs and took a big group photo. Everyone felt great! Karen and I had an affinity for one another and on her last day (last week) she gave me the framed copy she kept in her office of that picture. Half the people in the picture had moved on and it brought back many fond memories. Another coworker in the picture stated “the curse continues,” in response to how many teammates have moved on.
I Felt:
I felt like the reason change is often so tough is because of the many emotions associated with it. I also was pessimistic about the organization finding a replacement just as capable, even though I know somehow we almost always do. I also felt fortunate to be able to work with someone who was really a team player and always put the organization and coworkers above herself. I was full of joy and some emotion upon saying goodbye. Lastly, I was proud of Karen for all she did and how humbly she carried out her work.
Lesson Learned:
1. We are always more impressed with someone when we find out their many accomplishments from someone other...