What an opportunity! 2 days to thank 2 people that make a difference for you at work and for you to pass this on to two other people who then do the same. Think about it, when was the last time you gave thanks to those around you where you spend the majority of your waking hours? Consider the positive power of a simple 'thank you' to one person today and tomorrow. Two unassuming individuals who come into your workplace every day not looking for recognition but who make a huge difference to you and those around you. Just walk up to them and simply say, "Thank you for what you do, you truly make a difference and I would like for you to know that!".

Here are a few people we have found that often make an impact behind the scenes but rarely, if ever, get a thank you from anyone other than possibly their manager.  

Reception/Security – Those special people that come in each day to make the workplace welcoming and safe for you, your customers, and visitors. Just walk right up to them and say, “Thank you, what you do really matters!".

Facility/Maintenance – The unsung heros that keep our work environment’s functioning and clean.  Reach out to your facilities person and have them pass along a sincere thank you to their maintenance and facilities teams that work hours, long after you go home to be with family, cleaning up and fixing our messes!

Human Resources – Particularly this time of year with benefits open enrollment going on (By the way, don’t blame them for your premiums and deductibles going up!) and all the other policy changes, coupled with performance management on the horizon. We don’t always agree with HR, but they are there for us, often times even in the most desperate and difficult of situations. Think about having to deal with people and their issues every day...not so easy!!!

IT/Help Desk – Our IT teams get all the blame for any and all downtime situations but rarely get thanked for all the issue free days we enjoy along the way. In the next day or so just call your help support or find your IT person and just say thank you for keeping me connected!

Warehouse/Mailroom Operations – It is the sole focus of these people to ensure you receive what you are expecting and are looking for and that your organization's customers get what they ordered on a timely basis. Just think about a day without them, not good!

Customer Service – Those individuals with the task to delight your customers and handle complaints. Can you imagine taking these calls all day long? Just call them up and say this isn’t a complaint, just a thank you for what you do. You make our organization special and I know your job is not always easy.

These are just a few example areas that get little recognition for what they do but we would be hard pressed to do without them! There are so many opportunities for each of us to step up and lead the way in just saying thank you!  

So, I challenge each of us for just 2 days, starting now, of saying thank you to 2 people and then challenging 2 others around you to do the same!  What a start to Thanksgiving that will be!  

And thank you for taking the time to read this!!!! There, one down, one more to go!!!!

Cornerstone Learning is a performance and leadership consulting organization that has worked with clients all over the world. Our focus is working with individuals and organizations to create performance solutions that deliver top-tier results by inspiring, enabling, and developing employee-led, leader supported, and organization enabled performance. We are able to successfully deliver this through multiple products and services such as employee surveys, online training, performance assessments, and performance coaching. The goal at Cornerstone Learning is to assist our clients in developing a dynamic and customized blue print to deliver role model organizational and personal performance.