Never Underestimate Your Impact
I once had a direct report who fought me at every turn. He didn’t want to take any feedback; he always just wanted to do what he believed was right.
Eventually he left the company, and we didn’t keep in touch.
Recently, he reached out and told me that he still used some of the things he learned from me now. I definitely didn’t know it at the time; in fact, I felt the opposite — frustrated that I wasn’t able to connect with him.
Two lessons here:
1) You never know the impact you might be making on someone — so when in doubt, keep going;
2) Remind people about the impact they are making on you or others too; often, people won’t know until someone tells them
I embodied this lesson myself recently: I told a former teammate that a project she had labored over years ago was still making a huge impact on the business, and I told a former boss that I still thought often about the feedback she gave me, also many years ago. Who wouldn’t want to know that they’ve made a difference in your life?
I’ll keep doing it.
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