Do Colleagues Matter?
Meredith Viera left the Today Show with a great deal of fanfare today. She is leaving to have a better work/life balance with no more 2:30 a.m. reveilles. There was the obligatory reel of highlights from her five years on the show. My personal favorite was a bake-off with Martha Stewart when Matt Lauer tossed a ribbon into the air and Meredith caught it.
Most revealing, was the high esteem in which her colleagues held her. Al Roker and Matt Lauer both paid tribute to her spirit of cooperation. Mr. Roker said she made it about the show, not her.
Over a decade ago I wrote a story for The New York Times called The Wisdom of Thoughtfulness. No deeply reported investigative story or tale of foreign intrigue or war, it chronicled consideration in the workplace. Marcus Buckingham who was at Gallup at the time, told me people join companies, but leave managers.
There was no mention of colleagues, but as the heartfelt accolades poured forth this morning, one couldn’t help but wonder if the idea of the “NBC Family” was actually true and if the cameraderie influenced their their ratings dominance.
What if the key to prosperous companies and enterprises lies in our relationships to our colleagues?
Tags: Al Roker, colleagues, cooperation, employee attitudes, Martha Stewart, Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, Today Show, work-life balance
