I had to be out of the office for health system related reasons.  When I returned I found that several people had tried to contact me by voice mail or email and were surprised I could not be reached.  As I contacted them to let them know I was just receiving their message and that I had been out of the building, each one understood my absence.  There was also another recurring thread in their responses.  That thread was that I am usually to easily reached it surprised them when I did not respond promptly.  Until this event happened I had not realized what a reputation I had built of being prompt in responding to messages and emails.

I am intentionally prompt to show people I care about them.  It was affirming to see that people notice it and value it, even though it took my not being available to prompt them to share their feelings.  My learning from today: “Make people a priority, they will notice, and they will appreciate it”.