[2022-03-09] Graffiti
This morning, a friend sent me a beautiful image and this quote from Maya Angelou: "This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before."
My friend told me that he sends his teammates a message every day with a GIF or photo or just words to wish them a good day. Knowing that I often quote Maya Angelou, he thought of me when sharing today's message with his colleagues.
His virtual message reminded me of something one of my employees used to do when we worked together in the Canadian Forest Service in 2008. She had a simple whiteboard near the entrance to her cubicle. Every day, she would write a new quote on her whiteboard. I made a point to walk past her workstation to see what inspirational words she had posted for the day.
That practice inspired an initiative that we applied in our branch. We installed a large whiteboard and a large bulletin board in the hallway near my office and labeled them Graffiti. The whiteboard included a centrepiece in which we presented a quote that changed daily, and four other sections that changed weekly. The latter sections posed questions, invited staff to doodle, provided space for employees to say bravo to a coworker, and encouraged people to make suggestions, among other things. The bulletin board included sections for activities such as sharing news, posting announcements and organizing events.
A half dozen Graffitists took turns changing the quote of the day, adding new questions to the whiteboard, and refreshing the content on the bulletin board. Employees filled in the whiteboard over the course of the week, often with very humorous responses. They posted announcements, such as photos of a colleague's baby. They organized activities, such as the branch's holiday lunch, voting on options, viewing the menu of the winning restaurant, and arranging carpooling.
Employees loved it. People would stop to read the boards or add to them. A colleague would join, and they would engage in friendly chit chat. It was a simple way to support internal communications and team building. It became the proverbial office water cooler.
Graffiti was maintained mainly by the women in the office, though the men piped in with responses. I thought this was a tad unfair, so one week, I issued a challenge to the guys to take over the board. It turned out to be one of our funniest weeks ever. Among the questions they posed was this one: "Favourite power tool?"
At a time when teammates are interacting predominantly virtually, I applaud my friend's practice of sending messages to his colleagues to start their day with a smile.
I conclude this post by offering a week's worth of quotes for one of his future messages...
I drop kindness pebbles in still water everyday, and I watch the effect they have on other people's lives. My favorite kindness pebbles are compliments. Drop a compliment and watch the ripple effect that it has in your life.
~ JohnA Passaro
"What day is it?" asked Pooh.
"It’s today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.
~ A.A. Milne
Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breath, smile and start again.
~ Unknown
Get in the game. Do the best you can. Try to make a contribution. Learn from today. Apply it to tomorrow.
~ Cal Ripken Jr.
I hope you realize that every day is a fresh start for you. That every sunrise is a new chapter in your life waiting to be written.
~ Juansen Dizon
