How She Learned to Celebrate Her Team

As I grew as a leader, I learned that understanding what motivates and matters to the people around me is just as important as delivering results. Once I made gratitude and appreciation an intentional part of my leadership by regularly recognizing effort, contributions, and wins, I saw stronger engagement, deeper trust, and a more collaborative team culture.

I learned that people flourish when they feel genuinely seen, valued, and appreciated. When recognition became an intentional part of my leadership, it strengthened trust, deepened connection, and empowered others to recognize the greatness within themselves.

I've learned that recognition begins with truly listening and understanding what each person contributes and making sure their ideas, expertise, and accomplishments are visible. Across HL7 FAST, intentionally celebrating those contributions has built trust, strengthened collaboration, and helped people see themselves as part of something bigger.

I learned that great leadership starts with truly seeing the people around you; their strengths, contributions, challenges, and potential. When I made appreciation an intentional part of my leadership, I saw greater trust, engagement, and confidence; people felt valued, became more willing to speak up and innovate, and ultimately brought their best selves to the work.

I learned to recognize the people around me by understanding that success is never achieved alone and by intentionally noticing the contributions others make every day. When appreciation became a deliberate part of my leadership, it strengthened trust, deepened relationships, and created a culture where people felt valued, empowered, and inspired to do their best work.

I learned early in leadership that people are often fueled by recognition for the small things, especially the work that creates consistency over time. I remember a team member who took extra care with something as simple as file naming and organization. At the time, it probably seemed minor, but as the business grew, that consistency became incredibly valuable. What started as a small-business habit turned into a standard that made it easier for a much larger team to find information, train new employees, and work more efficiently. Recognizing that kind of attention to detail reinforced for me that the small things often become the foundation for bigger success. "People remember when their work is genuinely noticed. I've learned that meaningful recognition doesn't have to be big it just has to be sincere."