Determination to be your best

Kim modeled how to grow with openness and grace

“Good morning, Annette. How are you today?” Kim greeted me with her usual warm smile as I arrived at work each morning. She greeted everyone that way—staff and patients alike. Kim worked as Maplegrove Center’s receptionist, where I worked as a director. A young brunette in her 20s with a big smile and a let-me-know-how-I-can-be-of-help attitude, she impressed me with her friendly demeanor and positive approach to her work.

Kim’s warm smile brightens any day

“I’m well, thanks. I hope you are.” I replied. You know,” I went on, “I’m going to be hiring a new secretary soon. I hope you’ll consider applying,”

Kim smiled in the sort of way that showed she didn’t quite know if I meant it but appreciated the encouragement anyway. “Thank you. I’ll think about it,” she said to the back of my head, as I rushed past her to get to my morning meeting.

A few weeks later, a temporary receptionist addressed me in the morning when I arrived at work, and Kim greeted me from the center cubicle right outside my office door. Her hiring and promotion to her new role as departmental secretary had gone through.

In the days before computers, a secretary had to take dictation, transcribe memos from recordings, draft and send out communications to staff, manually organize and keep track of schedules, file paperwork (yes, actual paper!), and take and deliver accurate phone messages. Kim excelled at all these things except one: writing. She had never learned the rules of grammar.

Discouraged by her continual grammar mistakes on written documents, I struggled with how to approach her about this. I didn’t want to criticize her otherwise fine work, but I knew this was holding her back, and I knew I was frustrated. Had I made a mistake in promoting her? I was tired of editing her work when it was supposed to be the other way around, but giving people hard feedback was still not my strong suit. I knew something had to be done, though, and it was my job to do it. Since raises in our organization were based on merit, a negative score on her evaluation would have a direct impact on her salary. In addition, it would keep her from advancing in her career.

When I finally found my courage as a supervisor, I talked with her about her repeated errors and how they impacted my evaluation of her. Kim did not get defensive: she listened carefully, accepting the feedback as best she could. “I guess I didn’t learn enough grammar in school,” she remarked.

“And it’s important,” I said, “if you’re going to go further in your career.”

She nodded. “I will work on it,” she murmured, humbled but resolute.

All these years later, I don’t remember exactly what she did, if I ever even knew, but within a relatively short time, she had dramatically improved her skills. She had successfully applied herself to learning what she needed to learn. Although not perfect—none of us ever is--by the time she retired from Henry Ford Health System many years later, she had received several promotions and was working as Administrative Assistant to the hospital’s Vice President, several levels up from her position as my secretary.  

Because she was such a great employee, my business partner and I hired her for contractual work in our technology training firm in the 1990s, where she not only worked as our assistant, but eventually advanced to offering computer training to teachers and other clients. Kim had grown from a modest receptionist to an impressive professional all because she applied herself to improving her skills.

Kim taught me about the value of taking the time to support an employee’s development, and she taught me so much more than that. She modeled for me how to receive constructive feedback with openness and grace. She demonstrated the value of focusing on self-improvement. And she reminded me that determination to do your best can change the trajectory of someone’s life. It certainly has hers.

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It's all about faithfulness