Thanksgiving

I received a really nice email this week from the president of a group I work with. She was thanking me for working the greeting/nametag table at a their annual member event. Appreciated my tearing myself away from the party.

Got me thinking.

I run one of their biggest activities, with hundreds of volunteers. I tend to run it with a lead foot and a deaf ear.

It’s a good cause, and I’m continually grateful I can call for help and get it. Without the volunteers I have nothing.

So this was a chance to personally acknowledge and thank all the volunteers who came to the party. It was efficient, and possibly ostentatious, as they all saw me hustling to relieve the bottleneck.

I figure the rest of the year they respond to help me. This maybe balances our relationship.

Several years ago I started a company that fell short on income. I learned that without money, Thank You kept us moving in close formation until we fixed the problems.

Since then I’ve come to believe that a primary responsibility of successful leadership is Thank You.

In a season of giving thanks, it’s warming to reflect on how much I can depend on my many buds.