Leadership expert and bestselling author John C. Maxwell was once in an office foyer of a company, with whom he was consulting, chatting with some staff on break. After awhile, one of the senior leaders of the organization walked past the group without saying hello to any of them.

Everyone was shocked, so John followed the leader into his office and asked why he had just passed everyone without greeting them. The leader responded that he was in a hurry to get work done. To which John replied, “You just passed your work.”

As leaders, it’s easy for us to get so focused on projects, programs, deadlines, and decisions that we forget that people are our main work.

And people work best when they feel valued.