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The Value of Being Valued

August 30, 2001

"We all do better at work if we regularly have the experience that what we do matters, that it is valuable, and that our presence makes a difference to others. We may know in our hearts that what we do matters, but it is certainly confirming to hear the words from others.  We do not, after all, work and live in a vacuum.  Believing that what we do and how we do it makes a difference can also lead us to take additional care in performing our work.

Perhaps more important, hearing that our work is valued by others can confirm for us that we matter as a person.  It connects us to other people.  This is no small matter in organizations where the pace and intensity of work can lead a person to feel isolated.  This sense that we signify may be one of our deepest human hungers.  One way we experience that what we are doing at work is valuable is by hearing regularly from others how they value what we do (Kegan & Lahey, 2001, p. 92)."

Reference:  Kegan, R. & Lahey, L.L. (2001).  How the way we talk can change the way we work: seven languages for transformation. San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

How often do you tell others how much you value what they do?

How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-01-14