The Smile of The Team

I remembered my first 6-month review conversation with my supervisor for my first job here in Germany; my supervisor was really happy with my performance. At the end, I asked for his feedback, and he said he couldn’t comment much on the job because I wasn’t working with him daily. He was my supervisor on paper because I was working as an ANÜ (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung), but my actual work was with another company. But one thing he asked before giving feedback was, “T-Rex, were you born happy and energetic like this, or did this change as you grew up?” I replied, “Good question, I’ve never thought about this.” And then he started; he really liked my energy, my engagement with people, which made others around me feel motivated, and he was sure that my team was really happy to have me as a team member. We never had any review conversation again because I got an offer from my current manager to join the team as a permanent employee.

Another time, there was a new colleague joining the other team but sitting close to me. One time, I was cracking a joke with my team, and I was talking to a colleague that my team is fun. He smiled and replied, “I’m not sure how fun your team is, but one thing I’m sure of is that you’re always smiling.” – A feedback from a newcomer.

Then came the team planning at the beginning of this year. At the end, my teammate gave me feedback – I am the smile of my team 😊.

Yesterday, I met two colleagues in the coffee corner. When I entered the coffee corner, one colleague talked to the other, saying, “Look at her, she is shining as always.” And then the other replied, “I also came today, shining, and said hello to you, but you didn’t give me that feedback. Why are you giving it to T-Rex now?” I didn’t want to stand in the middle of the discussion, so I just smiled, said hello, took my coffee, and went back to work 😄.