It seems like a no-brainer: people matter more than tasks, to-do’s and what’s going on. The problem is, too often we assume the relationship and jump right into the job. Twitter, facebook and the myriad of social connections we have to people mean that often know a lot about what’s going on in a person’s life without asking. So we don’t.
Never was this clearer to me then when I was spending significant time in the Dominican Republic. As el pastor and el jefe, it was my responsibility to greet the staff each morning—to greet them first thing.
So, on my first day “on the job” I went down to the dining area as usual, but the coffee wasn’t out. The staff was in the kitchen, but the coffee wasn’t out. So I sat down with my book and read for a while. Every few pages I’d pause and glance to the table where the coffee should sit. It still wasn’t there.
So I stood up, walked over to the kitchen and poked my nose in, assuming something must be wrong—out of fuel? out of water? out of coffee (God forbid)? I asked a few probing questions about the job at hand, without so much as a nod or response.
I went back to my book. A few minutes later, Pastor Ramon, a Dominican who had been watching my blunder from his balcony, walked down and greeted me. “Good morning, Pastor Eric! How are you? And how is your family?”
Then he winked at me and went to the kitchen, greeting each of the staff by name and asking about their welfare, their families, their children, their neighbors. The ritual lasted several minutes, but by the time he had finished, the coffee was served.
You see, the cultural necessity of the personal greeting in the Dominican Republic highlights what we often forget in our fast-paced, success-driven world: that people long to be noticed, appreciated and loved… and when they are, they’re happy to provide great service.