As the pandemic was beginning its sweep from coast-to-coast and then into Denver, VIM Executive Coaching decided that buying a coffee machine might be a good idea. In that regard, we were no different than millions of others. Who knew what COVID-19 was? Who knew what manner of microbes lurked in our local coffee shop?
Oh, there you are!
So, just this morning we inexplicitly interrupted our usual routine to note (dare we say, “Thank”) our coffee machine for being the perfect beverage assistant for more than three-years. Day-in, day-out; in-person, then virtual, then hybrid, it has served us piping hot dark roast, light roast, decaf, chai and hot chocolate without complaint.
It has heard “a zillion” complaints, a bit of laughter and more than a few tears. If a machine can be noble, this machine is the epitome of nobility. It has not failed or broke or even sprung a leak.
“So, there you are, we said – and thank you.”
As VIM Executive Coaching is concerned with executive coaching, and as we draw influences from many sources including the Eastern Philosophies, the topic of loyalty is an important one for us. In countries such as Japan, loyalty is an extremely important attribute. It got us to wondering not so much about coffee machinery, but what it is about loyal employees that makes them so valuable.
For in a mindful sense
The loyal employee is, so unfortunately, often seen as a fixture, not unlike a potted plant or coat rack. Even on a virtual or hybrid basis, the loyal employee can be overlooked and taken for granted. Or, they may be seen in the light of an ever-so-passing acknowledgment.
It never truly occurs to many executive leaders that their dependable, always available, always willing may be the most mindful and flexible of all.
In this time when the newer buzzwords such as “change management” and “resiliency” are so valued, executive leaders frequently hire visionaries with bold new mindsets over workers who simply do the job, and do what is asked of them. It is an understandable concept. Much like our coffee machine, loyal employees are often dismissed because they are not new. When, in fact, they may be out in front of everyone else.
Loyalty is a highly mindful quality. Year-in, year-out, loyal employees often adjust, anticipate and cope with whatever comes along. They have seen organizations at their best and worst and understand what it takes to move things forward.
The mindfulness associated with loyalty is, unfortunately, rarely celebrated. It is so taken for granted until…
We started this discussion with an allusion to the pandemic. It wasn’t the pandemic, per se, that caused so many problems. It was, in part, millions of loyal people finally saying they had enough. Employees from hotel workers, to nurses and teachers, to supervisors, middle managers and above, walked off jobs.
The resignation of masses of people wasn’t about pay or benefits, but due a gross lack of appreciation. No one saw them. No one appreciated their loyalty, flexibility and virtue. They left. When that happened, whole departments and organizations felt the effects; some organizations have still not fully recovered,
To really see and to encourage greater loyalty also means to embrace and encourage a mindfulness of appreciation from the executive suite on down. Mindfulness does not abide in taking anything for granted.
We would like to formally thank our coffee machine for its service.