Priya is the best manager i've ever had! i am so sad to see her go :( i don't think i've ever had a manager who i truly considered by friend before...there was one day that she took me out to lunch which was the "grand prize" for the game we had been playing that week which i won :) it was so much fun!!! i really enjoyed getting to see Priya outside of work and getting to talk to her on a just friend level rather than a friend/manager level which is a little bit different :) she asked me questions about mike and life and my family and i got to find out more about her boyfriend and her life and family too! i really enjoyed having a friend of mine be my manager :)
Priya also believed in my abilities to succeed at work. it's kind of tough getting started out as a teller because there are expectations we're expected to meet in terms of "sales" made. i figured if i made "threshold" (the lowest acceptable level with no bonus compensation for reaching that level) then that would be good was a good enough goal for me. well, i managed to reach threshold with two weeks left in the quarter (we reset our count each new quarter) and Priya told me how proud of me she was and that she knew that i had the ability to reach bronze (the next level of sales that included bonus money for reaching it). she remembers how i laughed when she first said that, but she was serious! in the next day or two i realized that maybe all it would take was owning that goal and determining to achieve it. i decided to go for it and, lo and behold, i achieved bronze! achieving any sort of level with bonus money your rookie quarter is something to be very proud of and so it really gave me alot of confidence in myself and my abilities! Priya knew and believed from the beginning though that i could do it, even before i knew and believed it. i have never had a manager that pushed me to do and be better and believed in me. all my previous managers seemed pleased with my performance (i think so anyway, i really didn't get much feedback!) but didn't try to urge me on to do more. Priya was proud of what i had accomplished but let me know that she knew i had even more potential in me and helped me achieve that. there are so many lessons for me in that!
Priya had the ability to express to everyone that she cared about them in a way that each person could tell that on a personal level. you know how it's different amongst different people in terms of the actions they interpret as meaning that someone cares about them? well Priya figured out how to show each person that she cared about them and then she showed them. whether it was through joking around or simply asking about how things were going or being encouraging or a multitude of other things, i knew that Priya cared about me :) i have had managers in the past that did convey care and concern at times, but no one who did it like Priya did. because i knew she cared, i knew that i could ask for help or understanding in a tough time. that really meant alot :)
i don't know if the examples i've shared really embody how great of a person Priya is, but she sure is super and i'm going to miss her a bunch!!! maybe at some point i'll end up working at her new branch :) but in the meantime i will miss her!!!! thanks for everything you've done to help me be a better teller and a better person, Priya! you have taught me alot that will help me in work and in life too :) thank you for being such a great friend to me!!!
