Leadership story: The secret how to make everyone feel like they matter
John worked at a meat distribution factory for many years. He started as an intern at a low-level entry job, but with hard work and good leadership skills, he climbed to a middle management position after only a couple of years. He was well known in the factory for his can-do attitude, good manners, and the ability to make everyone feel like they matter. Even on his bad days he always greeted everyone and spoke very kindly, no matter the job they did or position they held. This was not the case for many of his peers who only looked out for themselves in the highly competitive company culture.
One day, when John finished with his work schedule, he went into the meat freezer to inspect it but in a moment of bad luck, the door closed and he got locked inside with no help in sight. It looked like the doorknob from the inside was broken and he couldn’t get out. Although he screamed and knocked with all his might, his cries went unheard since it was the end of Friday and all of his coworkers went home for the weekend.
Five hours later, when John was already on the verge of death, the security guard of the factory opened the door and saved him. John then asked the security guard how come he was here as this wasn’t part of his work routine. The security guard replied: “I’ve been working in this factory for 35 years. Hundreds of workers come in and out every day but you’re one of the few who greets me in the morning and says goodbye to me every night when leaving after working hours. Many treat me as if I am invisible. So today like every other day, you greeted me in your simple manner “Hello” at the entrance when you came to work, but curiously after working hours, I missed you saying “Goodbye see you tomorrow”. Hence I decided to check around the factory if you were alright. Simply because of your friendly greetings and goodbyes, you make everyone feel like they matter to someone, me including. And so by not hearing your farewell, I knew something must have happened to you. So I decided to go looking for you and luckily I have found you. “
Moral of the story:
- Be respectful to everyone around you. You have more impact on other people's lives than you know.
- Everyone in the organization has his/her role to fulfill. Just because you can’t see the value in other roles it does not mean that people in those roles are not important.
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