Unfortunately, saying thank you seems to be an afterthought more and more. So at least once a month, I will take a few minutes to publicly appreciate someone that has had an impact on me.
This round: Lonnie Weaver-Johnson
This time I actually do remember the first time I really met Lonnie. We were at a Scrum Gathering in Minnesota at a retreat session. I made some snarky comment (I know very shocking) and she leaned forward from behind and said… “I like you”. I laughed and we have continued to build on this ever since.
This particular appreciation is for going above and beyond. I had a client that was struggling to understand feedback, the process and the next steps. This client had a short deadline to be prepared but was confused as to what the expectations really were as they were hearing different things. I figured I would try to cut out the noise and ask someone that I trusted and is involved in this effort. Lonnie was my first thought. I sent a quick message and hoped I would hear back in the next week. Not only did Lonnie respond immediately, Lonnie made extra time just to do a quick chat to get all my questions answered quickly and clearly. Now this would be wonderful and worthy of appreciation all by itself. But Lonnie also made a point to thank me for helping this person. Lonnie cared about them succeeding and was grateful for anything helping to make that happen. We need more of that in the world. People that are rooting for others. People that are giving their time for others. People that expect the best but also help people get there.
Thank you Lonnie. For everything you do and the little things that you don’t have to but make such a huge difference.
Picture from LinkedIn.
