A Word From THE
DEPUTY
Dr. Wanda Peters shares her thoughts on taking some time to appreciate our colleagues.
Celebrating What We Do While we continue to operate during these challenging times of a global pandemic, it may be an excellent time to reflect on the work we do and how it impacts our community. During challenging times, I have found it helpful to celebrate small, medium, and large accomplishments. These accomplishments can be ones that I have accomplished, however I have found that acknowledging and celebrating the accomplishments of others provides me with the greatest satisfaction. So, how can we celebrate what we do? May 1st begins performance review time for several of our employees. This is a great opportunity for you to document all the great things you have accomplished during the past performance year through submitting a self-assessment to your supervisor. It is also a good 6
NASA/GSFC THE CRITICAL PATH
time for you to celebrate the work of others by providing performance feedback of coworkers to their supervisors. Another way to celebrate ourselves and others is to nominate someone for an award. There are several award calls (Peers, Robert H. Goddard, Agency Honors, etc…) throughout the year. Sometimes we just forget or do not take the time to recognize others or ourselves. Taking the time to recognize someone’s contribution in the workplace conveys a powerful message to the recipient and the community. Also know that it is okay to nominate yourself or request that you be nominated for an award. When you have made a significant contribution to the workplace, it is important to celebrate yourselves through self-nomination or through a conversation with your supervisor or co-worker requesting that they nominate you for an award. Just being nominated for an award communicates to the individual that what they did individually or collectively with a group matters
and had a meaningful impact. Most people would greatly appreciate being recognized for their work. Would you? Often, it is very worthwhile for me to slow down and be very intentional about observing what is happening around me. I tend to discover things that I might have overlooked if not for taking the time to truly see. I find that celebrating what we do could be as simple as sending a note or email of thanks, appreciation, or recognition to someone for doing an outstanding job, making a positive difference in someone’s day. A kind word can go very far in making someone’s day special. Given the busy nature and fast pace of our workplace, sometimes we need to slow down and appreciate the extraordinary work being accomplished by our magnificent workforce at Goddard. Let’s all stop, smell the roses, and celebrate what we do. I, for one, greatly appreciate the work you do for Goddard and I am forever thankful for being able to work with you!
