The attorneys at our office are allergic to giving feedback. You would swear they thought feedback (positive or negative) would create world peace and societal niceness and they would be out of a job, and money.
We have lots of newbies at our firm. After receiving a nomination request survey the other day from my local paralegal association, I sent out several emails with compliments to four support staffers. After reading my emails, each of them came to me tearfully and explained how my timing was eerie.
One had a failed first date the night before, after not dating for years. One had a boyfriend break up with her after over a year of dating. One of them was just kicked out of her apartment by her roommate, who also happened to be her mother. One was on edge because it was her son's first day of kindergarten. I had no clue about any of this.
They were all so grateful for the kind words and motivation. They each explained that it meant a lot because they had been asking their supervising attorney for feedback for a long time, who ignored their requests. They were uneasy about their work product, and needed some validation.
Those are the important days to remember. Sometimes, you just have to clear someone else's clouds out of the way so you can both see the rainbow.
Have a good day!
Love it!! The only thing worse than a boss who gives no feedback at all, is a boss who gives too much (to the point of practically doing the work for you because of various types of control issues). Good on you :)
ReplyDeleteSo true!
ReplyDeleteGood point. One of the nicest things my supervising attorney says on a frequent basis is, "Thank you for your great work." I feel so good when he says it, that I say it to people who help me, at work and other places. It's the little things that really make other people's day - and yours.
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