Appreciation and Validation

As the end of year draws near, so starts the busiest part of the year at work. Yesterday about an hour before I was scheduled to leave, I was notified that we landed a big account that I'd been working on and it needed to hit the books for November. So I settled into my cubicle, knowing it'd be a while. 3 hours and 15 minutes past quittin' time, it was completed.

I walked into work this morning, feeling like it hadn't been that long ago when I had left, and sat down at my computer, feeling less than excited to be there. However, my day turned around quickly when I saw I had an email from one of the underwriting managers, thanking me for the work I'd done on this account. "We often get to celebrate over here the success of getting a big account, but the truth is it wouldn't be possible without you and all your efforts." I felt immediate validation.

A couple hours went by and I saw I had an email from another underwriting manager. She, too, thanked me for staying late to get the account issued.

And as if that weren't enough, in the late afternoon I got yet another email. "I understand you played a big part in helping us win this account. Thank you for staying late to get this on the books. I appreciate all the work you did." I didn't recognize the name so I looked her up - turns out, she is the AVP of Sales. Whoa, big time. How cool is it that someone from upper management took time out of her busy schedule to send me, a lowly "rater", a thank-you email?! I was more than impressed.

This probably seems hardly blog-worthy, but in the "rater" world, to say this rarely happens is an understatement. To get 3 emails from different levels of management in the same day on one account speaks volumes to me. I know it seems so simple and it only took them a mere 2 minutes to compose such a note, but it means a lot. Feeling appreciated for what you do can do wonders for your engagement.

I marked today down as a good day at work, worthy of a gold star.