Kudos

Kudos

Every now and then it is good to pass on a ‘kudo’, or letting someone know that they did a good job at something.  Some people take on the mindset that as long as everything is going OK according to plan without any problems then there is no need for a compliment.  Others simply don’t offer one.  Then there are those who throw one out every year or two, kind of like throwing a bone to a starving dog.  Mark Twain made the observation that he could be happy for three months on one compliment.  Some people, as myself, appreciate a kudo every now and then; it lets me know that I’m being an asset to the project and not a mere participant.  It is also good to throw them at others as much as it is to receive them.

Last Friday Kiki and I did a day long rebuild on a tailgate that had been ripped off the hinge on one of the trucks.  It was not easy to fix, but we did.  It took longer than I expected, partly because every time we needed a tool, we had to find it, then we had to fix it in order to use it.  Plasma cutter had bad tips, the cutting torch had weak shutoff valve, oxygen tank was empty, so was the acetylene, tools were gone and patching steel was hiding.  During the project James, manager of the nationals, came by and commented, ‘Curt, you weld, too?  You are a man of many talents’.  I smiled; it made me feel good to know that I could contribute.

But it didn’t stop there.  I finished doing a vertical weld while balanced and twisted on a ladder; Kiki took one look at it and yelled in his excited pigeon English, ‘You professional, you professional!’  I pointed at a factory weld and replied, ‘no Kiki, that is professional’.  He laughed and said, ‘Ok, but you still very good.’  His excitement was genuine and made me realize that was being an asset.

It really made me feel good when Travis, the rubble manager, came by and said, ‘that looks great’.  I knew then that I was supposed to be here, even if only for a short time. 

It doesn’t take much to make someone feel like they belong, feel a part, or rest knowing that they are an asset to an undertaking whether it is in Haiti or at home, or wherever one lives or works.  Those kudos can change someone’s attitude and make them want to perform even better.  But it is important to also be free to pass them out.  I tell the Nationals we work with ‘thank you’ when they put up with my idiosyncrasies or when they lend an extra hand.  I also tell them I appreciate some of the things they do, like bring me a packet of water or step in to make me feel at ease when someone inquires about something in Creole.

Kudos is like a revolving door; there is giving and taking.  I think it starts with developing a layer of honest trust with others, complimenting them when something is done over the norm or doing a job well.  Being genuine and timely, which could mean not giving out so many kudos that they become trite, but also being honest and forthcoming when they are deserved. 

I don’t look around for compliments, but it sure is a reinforcement of character for me to receive one.  It makes me want to share it by passing out some more.  That type of contagion is good.