By Judith W. Umlas
August 18, 2015
It’s always so inspiring when I come upon what I would call “Random Acts of Acknowledgement” in my everyday life. I was staying at a hotel while on a business trip, and overheard the delightful exchange you can see in the video below… well almost! In actuality, I just happened to be sitting there having a quick bite, when I witnessed it. I was practically moved to tears — it was something that could have been a “how to” right out of any of the books I have written. In fact it was so wonderful that I acknowledged both the giver and the receiver in this exchange, told them about The Power of Acknowledgment in 10 brief seconds, and then (I know you won’t believe this…) I had the audacity to ask them to “reenact” the exchange that had just taken place, so that I could shoot a cell phone video of it!!! I requested that they do it just the way I originally saw it. Please click the link to see what I’m so excited about!
A Random Act of Acknowledgment
My heartfelt appreciation goes to Chris, the magnificent acknowledgment bestower, and to Julieta, the lovely waitress and grateful recipient. I later learned that Chris had sought her out again in order to introduce her personally to the owner of the hotel, whom he had spent some time getting to know. He wanted to make sure that her service could be further acknowledged, in a way that would truly make a difference for her! I was told that the owner, in turn, gave her a huge hug and let her know how proud he was of her.
I was also proud to be a witness to the “reenacted,” yet equally moving exchange! It was truly a Random Act of Acknowledgment! Please send us descriptions of yours!
Learn more about Grateful Leadership at www.GratefulLeadership.com.
Judith W. Umlas
Judith W. Umlas is Sr. Vice President, author and trainer at International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL), a global corporate training company. She is the publisher of IIL Publishing, New York. She is also the author of the ground-breaking book, The Power of Acknowledgment ©2006, IIL Publishing, New York, which has been credited with changing workplaces and lives by making use of the 7 Principles of Acknowledgment she developed. Her book on Grateful Leadership, Using the Power of Acknowledgment to Engage All Your People and Achieve Superior Results was published by McGraw-Hill Professional in association with IIL in early 2013 and You’re Totally Awesome! The Power of Acknowledgment for Kids was published in late 2013 by IIL Publishing.
Judith delivers inspiring, motivational, and transformational keynote addresses on Grateful Leadership and The Power of Acknowledgment all over the world. She also leads webinars and teaches full day virtual and traditional courses to organizations such as Volvo, the U.S. Army, Prudential, JMP Engineering, the World Bank, Fannie Mae, IBM, AT&T, Google, Amway, CCL Industries, the New York Police Department, and many others. She has trained over 100,000 people through her leading edge, highly interactive and engaging courses, and keynotes – with outstanding and long-lasting results. She heads up the Center for Grateful Leadership, a division of IIL, whose members from around the world are committed to practicing and implementing the Grateful Leadership initiative in their organizations.
