For a moment forget about “Pride” being one of the seven deadly sins. There’s Pride, and then there’s pride. We’ll use the one with a capital letter at the beginning to go with that one you want to avoid. Being boastful, proud, taking credit where it IS NOT due. But that’s not the same as pride. Sounds the same when you say it, but feels completely different when you see it. So, let’s talk about taking pride in your work and the company you represent.

1. Taking Pride in Your Work and Organization
For a moment forget about “Pride” being one of the seven deadly sins. There’s Pride, and then
there’s pride. We’ll use the one with a capital letter at the beginning to go with that one you want
to avoid. Being boastful, proud, taking credit where it IS NOT due. But that’s not the same as
pride. Sounds the same when you say it, but feels completely different when you see it. So, let’s
talk about taking pride in your work and the company you represent.
The kind of pride we think is good is when you’ve put the effort into doing the best job you
possibly could and knowing it. That “pride” brings joy and satisfaction and could quite easily be
replaced with the words “pleasing” or “pleasure.” You’ve created a pleasing outcome, and it was
a pleasure to do so. You could also, instead of saying that you take pride in your work … that
you love what you do. What could be better than those feelings, and those feelings are not a sin
either! In fact, it should be what every person strives for in their profession and the company
they represent.
Find Pleased Workers:
As a leader, you should want workers that, like you, are pleased to work at the company, do the
job they do, and gladly reflect that in their dealings with each other and with clients and
customers. You certainly shouldn’t be looking for employees who frown their way through the
day and grouse about anything and everything during their office hours. Nope, that’s when pride
becomes a positive and worthwhile goal.
Begin as the Leader to be Pleased:
As the amazing leader that you have been working to become, you know that almost every
successful move made by the organization begins with the leaders. If it doesn’t, employees will
never follow the desired trend. Why should they if the leaders aren’t doing it? Begin by showing

2. how much you love working at the company and doing the job you do. Then start noticing and
commenting on the good things that others on the team are doing.
If you have a team of 20 or so people, it should be a goal to compliment every one of them at
least once a week. Keep watch to see who helps others when they have free time; who always
meets deadlines; who keeps a tidy desk; and any other good patterns you want to see repeated.
Say the good stuff in public where others can hear your commendations. If there’s a problem,
those should be addressed in private, and they should stay that way. But the good actions
should be celebrated.
It won’t be long before you start seeing others doing the same thing. Taking the time to mention
successes and celebrating together. Following that, the people who work for you will incorporate
this pattern into their interactions with your clients and then their friends. They’ll also talk about
how much they love the place they work, the job they do, and the positive energy they always
feel there.
Is that pride? Yes! It’s also pleasure, or love. Beyond that, it’s just plain “Good.” So when
someone says to you that you are proud, smile and thank them before you take the time to tell
them some of the good things you’ve noticed in them too.