I am writing this post while sitting in a certain Seattle-based coffee shop. I actually do a lot of my writing from this location. It’s a practice derived from advice that someone shared with me a while back about overcoming writer’s block. (A good teammate move on that person’s part!).
You would think the ideal place to write would be a quiet, remote location, isolated from the distractions of other humans. Those locations work—sometimes, for some people.
But I personally find the ambiance of coffee shops to be more favorable in terms of generating creative ideas. There’s just something intellectually stimulating about the smell of coffee, the genre of music that’s played, and the conversations taking place around me.
I sip my coffee and take it all in. I listen. I people-watch. And I learn.
Recently, I achieved gold-level status at this particular coffee shop. I reached that level of distinction by being exceptionally loyal to their brand, drinking a lot of coffee, and spending an embarrassing amount of money in their store.
(Every time I go to pay, a conversation plays out in my mind between my grandfather and I about the cost of my coffee. It’s a conversation very similar to the famous scene in Quentin Tarantino’s movie Pulp Fiction where John Travolta’s character questions Uma Thurman’s character about her five dollar milk shake. “Did you just order a five dollar shake? That’s a shake – that’s milk and ice cream?”)
In full disclosure, it’s been awhile since I patronized this coffee shop franchise. It’s not because I have anything against them, it’s just that I’ve been busy traveling and working on other projects. But I am here today because I got an email from their company, reminding me that I haven’t visited lately and inviting me to stop by.
Their email made me think, “You know, I haven’t been in lately. I worked hard to achieve my gold-level status, and I definitely don’t want to lose that. I better stop by.”
So here I sit, drinking coffee, taking in the ambiance, and thinking about how influential the fear can be of losing status we’ve come to value.
There’s a good teammate lesson to be learned from this experience.
Think about the individuals on your team who you value as being good teammates. In many ways, they have earned gold-level teammate status from you. Have you told them lately how much you appreciate and value them as teammates?
You may be surprised how influential it can be to pull a teammate aside, look him or her directly in the eye, and say: “Thank you for being a gold-level teammate.”
Your simple, perhaps even borderline silly, gesture will likely have the same effect on that individual’s psyche as the coffee shop’s email had on mine. You will have put them on a pedestal, and they too will not want to lose their gold-level status.
Sharing is caring, and few things show you care more than sharing your appreciation.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
