Ever read one of the Where's Waldo? books. If so, you've probably experienced the intensity, challenge, frustration (call it what you will) of searching for Waldo in a crowded image of a beach scene or county fair. His red and white hat and shirt, his unassuming lanky posture, his glassed-eyes, always hiding in plain sight. And Waldo gets around. He's pretty much in every country and every possible location. And he's almost never alone.
It's January, 2023, a post-pandemic universe where we crave social interaction on our own terms. In recent times we hunkered down. We feared an invisible mutant that kept our friends and loved ones at arms-length. Our connections to co-workers made via Zoom or Teams. Our careers stymied by the lack of real dialog and IRL opportunities to synergize. I mean, how can you be SEEN when you are almost never in the same room?
Are you even a little bit afraid that your contributions will drown in a sea of sameness?
People are resigning left and right, but where are they going?
And what are they looking for?
My two cents? People crave recognition; to be seen and appreciated for their unique gifts and contributions.
In business and in life people share five uniquely human gifts: initiative, flexibility, creativity, commitment, and enthusiasm. Most people have these gifts in spades and want to volunteer them. Face it, success is not often the result of extraordinary stars, but ordinary people who use their gifts extraordinarily. And, like Waldo, those ordinary people are right in front of you - waiting to be found.
Want to find Waldo? Look deeper. Connect more. Invest time in cultivating relationships with your peers, boss and teams. Show more appreciation. Take better care of one another. Doing so will spread through the fiber of your culture and lead to better bottom-line results.
Better cultures win. Better teams win. 2023 can be a year for building more intentional connections. Make it so.
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