Recognition

I once read in a forwarded e-mail that according to research, the greatest reason why people quit a job... regardless of wheather they are doing good on that job or not, is simply because their superiors are willing to let them go.

Everybody wants recognition for what they do. No matter how big or small the contribution, what we do is always a big deal to us, right? I witnessed how people's egos were crashed today and I could not help but feel for them and remember how sometime in my life, my professional life was saved by someone who believed in me....

Mr. Moon was a Korean Manager sent to overlook our agency in 2004 while we were undergoing transition in my previous work. He did not have the aura of success and remarkable numbers as those who preceeded him. He was doing great based on our standards but compared to those who came before him who paraded their numbers to us, he was not exceptional.

Yet, for me he was the GREATEST! What sets him apart from the rest is the way I knew and felt he believed in me.

I admit there were a lot of times I wanted to give up on my work as a lifeplanner long before I actually did. It was not an easy task. It was very fulfilling but there are just days when the negative overthrows the positive. Although all it takes to make my day (days even) is one sale, sometimes, the drought and feeling of unworthiness simply pulls me down.

At the peak of my self doubt came the gentle presence of Mr. Moon. He did not lecture. Most of the things he said were really blahs. But I felt he did not see me as a number. I felt he was there to have fun with us. I saw him as a new beginning, a chance to go back to basics because I was starting on a clean slate with him. Without me knowing it, soon I was attending his classes, I followed his instructions, closed my biggest sale while I was under his management and survived the greatest hurdle I had in my profession as a LifePlanner.

He did not tell me he believed in me. He couldn't even complete a sentence in English. But i felt I could not do anything wrong with him. He was simply reassuring me that all will be alright. That he knows I can do better and WILL do better. That at the end of the day, I was not work and work is not me. I am a person and just for that he was willing to fight for me and with me. I am sure other people in the organization meant that as well. But with Mr. Moon's sheepish smile, I felt I should not worry. I can never disappoint him. Whether or not I deserve it, he knows I am Great! That was how I felt. And I acted accordingly.

Recognition is by far the greatest hunger of any professional, I think. Yet, people are too busy looking at themselves that only a few people take their time out to fill this need in others. I am grateful that someone did see through my fading confidence and believed I was a gem after all. He taught me that the greatest legacy a person can leave someone else in an organization is not a skill, but the feeling that he or she was important.

Mr. Moon, for your smile and encouragement, thank you!