Last week, I wrote about my trip to the National SHRM conference and remembering to always be learning.

Another take-away I had from the National SHRM conference was the importance of helping everyone in your organization or on your team feel valued.  Stealing from Coach Mike Krzyzewski again, he shared that at the beginning of each school year, he invites the maintenance staff to a team meeting for introductions. Not so that the staff meets the team, but so that the team can meet the staff!   He reminds his players that this group of men and women take care of them and are an important part of their team as well.   Coach K said, “One of the key goals is to make sure everybody feels important—everybody.  That’s the kind of atmosphere we should try to establish. It’s all-inclusive, and everybody owns it.”

There are so many actions we can take to include others or make them feel more valued.  The simple words, “thank you” can be the best of all. Hopefully it’s easy to say thank you to the manager who turns a project in with great ideas, or to a sales person who exceeds goals, but when was the last time you said thank you to the accounts payable clerk who comes in timely every single day and accurately enters invoice after invoice?  Or the last time you sent a hand written note or a small reward to the receptionist who warmly greets your clients all day long?  No matter our positions or personalities, we all want to be noticed.

Make people feel good about themselves!  And, guess who wins?  We all do!

How are you showing your employees or co-workers that they are valued?