Leaving Legacies Behind

Late this afternoon, I was surprised with an afternoon tea gathering held in my honor by my peers in my company’s volunteer corp.

I had told them last week that with the upcoming transfer to the outsource company; I would no longer be able to chair the group as I have done in the past 5 years. I decided this as it would be unfair to them if I could not devote as much of my time as before once I start my assignment with the new company. My decision was met with a little resistance but I convinced them that it is for the best. I have done my very best to help them develop as a cohesive team and have groomed several of the members to be capable team leaders to lead the rest. I felt that I’ve left the team in good hands.

Late this afternoon, I received a call requesting me to come to the cafeteria for a short meeting. What I didn’t know was that the whole team was there and the short meeting was actually a tea gathering in my honor. Regardless to say, I was shocked speechless by the turn out. It got even more embarrassing when they put me on the spot for a farewell speech. They even had a cake made for me and everything. I blushed even harder when afterward they presented me with a small token of appreciation. This was happening in a cafeteria full of other employees! I don’t think that I have ever blushed as much as I did at the gathering.

I have never been good at being the center of such attention. I’m more at home working in the background and celebrating our successes quietly. I wished that I could be more gracious with their show of appreciation but I was too stunned to react. I kept quiet about it but I truly felt that I did not deserve this much attention. All I did was to guide them as a team to initiate and execute the activities that we planned together. I tried to give them as much respect to them as individuals as they gave me. Come to think of it, I didn’t really do a lot for them when compared to what they all did for each other when they come together as a group.

As I am writing this entry, I realized how much little things that you do affect others a lot. Their overwhelming show of appreciation and the team’s success is proof positive that I can make a difference to the people around me by just staying true to my ideals. If the team takes this lesson to heart then I would have left a good legacy behind.