Acknowledgement Upholds Dignity.

I will admit it, I watched "Undercover Boss" tonight for the first time. I just wanted to see what it was about. Granted it is the Cinderella story all over again in a workplace setting, but who cares, it's fun. This show should help managers realize how powerful it is to truly acknowledge someone in their workplace. Giving acknowledgement to employees is an ongoing issue in every company I work with and the reasons managers have trouble giving this acknowledgement is covered in my book (see Fundamental Three), but I want to share my own recent experience with the power of acknowledgement.

I was in a Florida Walgreens buying some beer (yes they actually sell it there) and there was a long line of people being served by a single older woman in her fifties. As each customer reached the checkout, she took each of their items and neatly packaged them in an extremely conscientious way. She individually bagged each bottle before placing it into a larger bag, reached back to get a cardboard strip to place between the bottles in the bag before she placed in the next bottle, opened another bag for any other items and placed them in it slowly and carefully as if she were handling eggs. She did this with the five customers before me and treated each as if they were the only customer in the place. I would love to tell you that patience is one of my virtues---it is not. By the time my turn came I was pulling out my hair as she took what seemed a full five minutes with each customer, which at the time felt like an eternity. I mean, just put the bottles in a bag and move on, would ya? But no, she took meticulous care for each customer's precious purchase.

As my turn came she double bagged my beer and made sure that it fit perfectly even folding the top of the bag down with three perfectly symmetrical folds. I do not know what made me do this, but I considered saying something about the enormous time she took with each customer because everyone in the line was harrumphing and sighing to send a signal that they were as impatient as I was. Right as I opened my mouth someone sighed a little too loud behind me. I was embarrassed for the cashier and myself because I could have easily done the same thing given another minute, but something unexpected happened. For some reason as I opened my mouth and heard my own impatience acted out by someone else behind me, my better angels prevailed.

"You take such care in your bagging of people's items," I said in the most sincerely gentle tone.

I do not know where this response came from (actually I do, see Fundamental Seven in my book), but it came out. This woman looked up at me with the brightest smile I had seen in years. Her face beamed radiantly.

"Why thank you," she said almost breathlessly and beaming with pride, "I took an entire course to learn it."

I was touched by her proud response. I couldn't believe I had said what I did in the gentle tone that I had, and to see her react so positively to what could have easily been a sarcastic, nasty encounter---I could not believe my luck in having had it come out that way.

My simple acknowledgement upheld this woman's dignity. In a lesser moment of impatience I could have easily torn her down. Because of my own impatience I could not see that she was intending to be an excellent employee for her company that put her through an entire class to learn this technique. She realized it must have been important to her company or why would they have spent all that time teaching it to their employees. First comes careful attention, then comes speed with more practice. She was truly any company's dream employee, and I was judging her to be a pain. But all it took was a little acknowledgement of her effort and all was right in her world. Why can't we do this for more people in our lives? It would make such a difference for people's esteem.

I will remember this for a while and forget it again. That is the way of the world. We get the teachings, forget them over time, and then hopefully remember them again.

Acknowledgement upholds dignity.

Important stuff to remember for managers and fellow human beings alike.