Several years ago I was on an executive leadership coaching session. During the call this leader asked me how he could fill others buckets (the act of appreciating, recognizing and rewarding employees) when his felt so empty? This is a great question.

An area of concern for me as of late has been voicemail etiquette. It is tiring enough to wade through the hoard of telemarketers, but it is also equally frustrating to have to try to discern who is calling, why they are calling and where I can reach them. Good voicemail etiquette can help all of us be more productive.

As a Service Desk (“Help Desk”) Manager, a key measurement of success is your ability to provide solutions to your customers during the initial call. And as much as you want this to always happen there are a lot of cases where a ticket has to be logged and worked later after doing research and/or by a person of special expertise.

Study after study has shown that being happy at work is more about the little things than it is about large bonuses, stock options and exceptional benefits. I’m not saying those things don’t help, but feeling valued, respected and trusted at work is even more important.