Pen to Paper: Reconnecting Leadership in a Digital World

What if two handwritten sentences could do more for engagement than a dozen meetings? We sit down with author and keynote speaker Amy Daughters to unpack the surprising power of pen on paper—how a spontaneous act of compassion turned into 580 letters and a repeatable practice any leader can use to build trust, loyalty, and genuine kinship at work.

Amy walks us through the moment that sparked her writing habit, the two-year exchange that reshaped her view of connection, and the decision to write to every Facebook friend. Along the way, we dig into why tactile notes matter: they signal time and intention, they feel personal without being private, and they create an unmistakable moment of being seen. You’ll hear research-backed insights on why customer loyalty and employee engagement rise when people feel valued, not just satisfied, plus real-world examples of notes displayed like badges of honor in cubicles and kept in bedside drawers for years.

We get practical too. Expect simple, plug-and-play scripts for appreciation, support, and recognition that take under five minutes to write. Learn how to overcome the vulnerability speed bump, set up a low-cost “handwritten hub” with cards and stamps, and enlist your team’s eyes and ears to spot wins you might miss. We also explore how brief notes can bridge deep differences—acknowledging humanity without demanding agreement—and why this small habit can move culture faster than most big initiatives.

If you’re a manager, executive, or team lead looking for a human, scalable way to strengthen relationships, this conversation is your playbook. Subscribe, share with a leader who needs it, and tell us: who’s the first person you’ll write to this week?

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Introduction
• 1:43 The Origin Of 580 Letters
• 7:30 From Personal Story To Organizational Tool
• 12:40 Why Handwritten Notes Outperform Digital
• 18:30 The Magic At The Mailbox
• 23:20 Bridging Differences Through Letters
• 27:50 Vulnerability Made Practical For Leaders

Transcript

Dr. Leah OH: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of The Communicative Leader. I'm your host, Dr. Leah O, and today we're joined by Amy Daughters, an award-winning author, keynote speaker whose unique approach to connection is making a huge impact. Amy's work, which includes her acclaimed books, Dear Dana, and you cannot miss this up, is all about bridging the gap in our digital first world through the forgotten art of handwritten letters. She has a remarkable story of writing 580 handwritten letters to all of her Facebook friends. A journey that has illuminated a path to authentic relationships, communication, and leadership. Featured on shows like the Kelly Clarkston Show, Amy brings a blend of humor, wit, and deep insight that inspires leaders to embrace vulnerability, foster genuine kinship. In this episode, we'll explore how leaders can use this timeless practice to engage employees, build trust, and create a culture of profound connection. Let's dive in. Hello and welcome to the Communicative Leader, hosted by me, Dr. Leah O'Millian Hodges. My friends call me Dr. O. I'm a professor of communication and a leadership communication expert. On the Communicative Leader, we're working to make your work life what you want it to be. So, Amy, thank you so much for joining us today, for sharing your time, your expertise. I'm really excited for our conversation. And I'm hoping of a nice way to start us off is you could walk us through your story. You wrote 580 handwritten letters. This is really inspiring. And I was hoping you could tell us kind of what led you to this project and maybe some of the discoveries that emerged along the way.

Amy Daughters: 1:51

Right. Yeah. Thank you for having me on, Dr. Oh, I'm excited to be here. You know, I was minding my own business when this letter writing thing happened to me. So it's not like I was I didn't seek this out in any way. And I actually think that that it makes the whole thing more was more magical for me, but I think it's even more impactful because I didn't try to do it. But basically, I was I'm a freelance writer and an author. And I was on Facebook one day and looked up an old friend from 35 years ago who I'd met at a summer camp. Voila, she shows up. I'm like, and you know, we become friends because it doesn't require us to do anything else. And I scroll through her life, and right away I find out she's got uh she's overachieved in children. She has five of them and one four girls, one boy, he's the youngest, his name is Parker, and right away I found out he's sick, he's battling cancer, and he's at St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee. So that means it's you know serious. So I don't hit like or I don't comment on anything, I just watch. You know, she asks her prayers, I pray, because that's kind of my thing. But other than that, there was no interaction because I felt like that was disingenious. Here's this woman fighting for a kid's life. He goes on her mission, they go back home, and then towards the end of that same year, the cancer comes back, and she's very honest, posts this big post. We're going back to Memphis, Tennessee. And I sat down at my desk the next morning, and Dr. O was literally like a lightning bolt tipping the head. I was like, I'm gonna send them supportive cards and notes. So that's what I did for 10 to 12 weeks. I hadn't written anyone a letter in 30 years. I'd written letters as a young person, as a college student, until instantaneous communication came around. So I write them for probably 14, 15 weeks, and then tragically, and there's no good words for it, the kid loses his life at 15 years old. So I don't know what to do, it has nothing to do with me. I send her a condolence card, but then I just felt like I just couldn't leave her hanging. You know, I couldn't just the letters stop. So I like, I'll just keep writing it at her house. So mini lightning bolt, but I have to kind of figure out where to mail the letters. I send them to her husband. He's an attorney law office. And then month, you know, week after week, I put her on my writing schedule. I write her. The letters start to be longer and longer. And then just about the time where I'm telling myself I'm crazy and I should stop. I walk out to my mailbox. We still had no interaction, and there's a 10-page letter from this woman. It's just incredible. And in it, she's she she said, I didn't mean to write this long. She writes about her grief. She tells me all kinds of things. At the end, she says, you know, I didn't mean to say any of that, but I feel better for saying it. Yeah. And so this kicks off two years of me and this woman writing each other. We don't email, we don't text. Yeah. You know, it opens up an incredible free space. We trust each other, we share with each other. I'm looking at my life from the outside in, she's writing about her grief. After about eight months of that, I sat back and I said, This has changed my perspective on everybody. Because it's like taking the veil off of Facebook and seeing what someone's real life is about. And the depth and the trust we it was so profound that I sat back and thought, if there's this much good to be had with this one random girl who I didn't even really 100% remember, like, what about the other hundreds of people who I'm supposedly friends with? Like what else is out there? I was like, well, I'm gonna go all-world bananagrams and I'm gonna try to write all these people. So I bought stationery, I shoved all their names in a box, and I got a journal. And I swear to you, I thought I was gonna get to like letter 30 and I was gonna be like, peace out on the letters. Yep. But when I got to letter 30, Dr. O, I realized I had unleashed a power in my own life of goodness that I could not stop. So it took me 18 months, and I wrote the 580 letters, and now I cannot shut up about it. That's that's the backstory to the letters.

Dr. Leah OH: 5:33

Wow, that is amazing, Amy. I mean, there's just so much beauty in that and thinking about connection. And I know we're gonna get into that in our conversation, but you're right, so much of this life we're living now, it's easier in some ways. It's quicker, but it's very superficial. And we're just scratching the surface. And you're helping us, helping to remind us of the power of true connection. Right, right.

Amy Daughters: 6:00

And again, I think the universe or God, however you want to frame it, gave me this incredible story. Like this the 600 letters is 100% my calling card, and I never meant it to be. You know, and this was my inspirational tale when I wrote a book. I started to speak about it. Yeah, I thought it was my little inspo story, you know. Yeah. What happened was this is applicable to any place where two humans are trying to connect in a more genuine way or it needs to be enhanced, and that includes, you know, organizations. I started to speak to organizations and referral-based businesses, and I was shocked. I had a real estate group ask me to speak, and I was like, what do the real estate people want with me? Yeah. And I realized that I had again unleashed this tool we all have in our toolkits. Anyone who's listening, you don't have to be a writer. You don't have to be, all you have to do is be a human being with a sincere heart and about 10 minutes of your time. And this will blow the doors off of any relationship you want you want to put this into use for.

Dr. Leah OH: 6:59

Exactly. I think about I one of the classes I teach is persuasion and social influence. And there's some research that's showing that sales folks who actually take the time to write handwritten letters or cards are those that are much more successful than peers who will send the text or maybe an email or nothing at all. Right.

Amy Daughters: 7:20

And there's there's there's science and there's numbers attached to that because you know I speak to referral-based businesses. You know, we think that uh customer satisfaction is about being pleased with a product or being pleased with a service. But really, the top they you know, all these science and all these research, the top thing that that drives repeat business is is people feeling valued. Bingo. Yep. Bingo. Who would have noted? Because we think that's all feelings because we're in such a factual data-driven world. But the data and the science backs this up a hundred percent. That the feelings, and and it's also sincere marketing. It's it's good practice businesses in an organization. It's like leading with a heart, you know, and and and that makes you at the end, the person, like for me, the person most changed from all these letters and notes, and I still write notes, is is me. And you're a better manager, you're and better, you're a better, you know, if you're an accountant, you're a better customer service person, you're a better human being by doing this. And I think the other thing, Dr. O, that needs to be clarified is the word letter, that's daunting. That's not what I'm saying. You you can get the same impact from a two-page letter in two sentences. If it's handwritten, it's sincere, because it's such a deliberate thing, and we can get into the impact of it. But I had no idea. And it is, it is absolutely besides handing someone a check for a thousand dollars, you're gonna have a hard time having a bigger impact in any context of your life than you are with a handwritten note.

Dr. Leah OH: 8:57

Yeah, and I love and I love that you too, you differentiate. It doesn't, you know, when we think letter, someone might think, like, I don't have the time to fill a scroll. But like you said, if these are thoughtful couple sentences, that that lands in a way that the text or email doesn't. Right.

Amy Daughters: 9:12

And especially in a leadership or or customer-based business, you know, you don't need to go on and on anywhere, you know, but sincere, specific comments with your name signed underneath it. I mean, you just cannot, you will unleash so much goodness you will not even believe what just happened.

Dr. Leah OH: 9:31

So let's think more about this digital disconnect that we're living in. And I know this is something that you, through your work and through your keynotes, your connections, you're really starting to see this, that we're we're a very digital world, but also very disconnected world. And I'm wondering, what are some of the most significant ways, this digital first approach that we're living in, how do you see that when you're out in these industries and community events, how do you see that impacting leadership and team dynamics?

Amy Daughters: 10:02

Right. And I think it comes down to employee engagement. And the reason it's in a dumpster fire is because people, you know, and then you throw in our fractured culture right now, anyway. Yeah. And that disengagement shows up everywhere, and it shows up in people feeling disconnected. And and then throw in the fact that we had the pandemic and people are siloed and they're and we're, you know, we're we're we're connected to more people. It's just the same concept as social media. We're connected to more people, but not individually. People feel more and more siloed, people feel more and more disengaged, people feel more and more like they're on their own and nothing that they do matters, and they're not seen, they're not heard, they're not valued. And again, this is you can put this into any human context. You can be a customer, you can be an employee, you can be a leader, you know, you can be a mid-level manager, and you feel these same things because it's it's a human emotion. But I think that's and the digital thing just drives that because there's no if you send me a text, you don't have to put a lot, and it's not that the text didn't mean anything, and it's not that I don't mean anything to you. Yeah, but since that's what we do, you don't feel personally seen or valued, or that someone took the time to do something for you. Yeah, it's not a commitment, there's not a yeah, there's not something that has to be, you know, given.

Dr. Leah OH: 11:22

Exactly. And I think that leads us to this next question, the power of the pen. And that's what I was thinking about. And you know, as a leadership communication scholar, you know, that this handwritten letter, it's more than just the the words on the page or the card or you know, the that little scrap of paper leaving to say thank you. So, Amy, in your experience, what is this act of this hand writ handwritten note in the workplace? What is it communicating beyond just that text on the page? Right.

Amy Daughters: 11:54

And this is where the magic happens because you're right, it's more than, of course, sincere, you know, well-meant words are always whether they're a text or an email, but in this busy, because we all know how busy we everyone is, that everyone's, you know, has, and especially when you're looking at a leader in your organization, a direct leader, you're watching them, you're watching how busy they are. But they're going to, when they hold this note in their hand, I call it the magic at the mailbox. We can call it the magic at the inbox, we can call it the magic at the at the you know, the mailbox or how in the in the wherever you've received this. And there's magic because when you hold this in your hands, when the employee holds this in their hand, they're gonna realize, they're gonna connect the dots. And I have so much experience with this, they're gonna say, wait a second, this person had to take the time to sit down, wait, where are the note cards? Wait, I don't have time to do this. I could send you an email, but I'm gonna literally get this ballpoint pen out and I'm gonna write you two sentences, I'm gonna sign it, then I'm gonna seal the envelope myself, and then I'm gonna have to find how I'm gonna get it to you. If you work remotely, I'm gonna have to find your address and then I'm gonna have to put it in the mail, or somebody's gonna have to put it in the mail, you know, or they had to walk across and put it in my inbox, or they had to whatever they had to do, and they're gonna hold that tactile thing that you held in your hand that they're gonna be like, This is how much I mean to this organization. I mean so much that someone would take time to do this because they could have sent me an email.

Dr. Leah OH: 13:26

Boom. Yeah, exactly. So it's really I think a nice reminder that it is the process and the journey and not just that end result that people start to recognize that you care, you took this time.

Amy Daughters: 13:42

Right. And you and you're you're that that person is valued or whatever they contributed is is valued and they're seen that much. And again, there's numbers associated with the feelings, you know. But but it and this isn't you know, but but it will absolutely, you know, I have so many stories of people who I've worked with. I had I went and spoke to a group of women leaders, and she said she employed this and she started writing one note a week, one note, not one letter, one card, little training card. And she she said after about six months, and you have to, and we're gonna talk about vulnerability, but she had to get over that. She said she walked out, she had like 1,500 people working for it. She walked out into cubicle row one day, and she said she knew who she wrote the letters to or the notes. And so she said they were they were hung up and displayed like a badge of honor in these people's cubicles. And she was like, wow. And then she started doing two a week.

Dr. Leah OH: 14:36

Amazing. And so about that, Amy, you found that this genuine kinship thrives in these unexpected places. And you just shared a story, but I'm hoping you can share another about a connection or response that you received that really surprised you and taught you something new about relationships and connections. Right.

Amy Daughters: 14:56

You know, and I and I think, you know, the Facebook project was obviously a more personal affair. But I think again, it's it's you know, human beings uh relate in the same way, whatever the context is of the relation. But I wrote a girl who I went to high school with, who I knew because of social media, believed, you know, absolutely probably the opposite of most everything I believed. You know, like we were on different sides of this great abyss that we've been we've been told we're standing on now. Abyss is the good word. Right. And so I wrote the letter thinking, you know, you know, she's gonna look at it and you know, she knows where I stand too, and she's gonna think plus I had seen her since high school. She was one of the cool girls and I wasn't, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I sent her a letter and basically just said, look, I appreciate the fact that you because she was one of those people who presents her opinion respectfully, you know. And I said, I've learned from your posts. I'm glad we're different because it's, you know, it's where change really starts. Because I thought maybe that was, you know, and I said, you know, I hope you keep posting. We got brought up in this tight suburban box. You know, I appreciate that we both try to stand outside of it and we probably have more common ground groundly thing. I didn't think I'd ever hear from her again in my life. So I get a letter back from her. And she said, you know, I am filled with so much hope when I hear from someone like you, you know, and she said, I hope we stay in touch. And I agree, you know, that our differences are what makes us better. And I'm still in touch with this girl, you know, despite everything that's happened since then. And it just reminded me that, you know, our hope, the hope we're looking for is really in each other.

Dr. Leah OH: 16:27

Yes, yep. And good on you, Amy, for for praising the differences and for recognizing value. Because for a lot of folks, we see that messaging, we realize, oh, this is different than what my messaging would be, and we shut it down. But like you're saying, there is a there is a lot of interesting space and room for growth if we can get beyond those initial differences. And even doesn't mean we ever have to accept them, we never have to adapt them, accept them, adopt them as our own, but to acknowledge that there's a way to learn from others and you know, to have a dialogue, right? And we can connect without condition.

Amy Daughters: 17:06

And this applies to the workplace as well. But we can reach our hand across that abyss, not because we, like you said, it's important. We don't have to agree, we don't have to adopt something that we're absolutely not going to adopt. All we have to do is say this is another human being who I sit next to, who I work for, who I work with, and that connection is supersedes. I can still care about them. I can still listen to them, I can still respect them, even if I'll never agree with them.

Dr. Leah OH: 17:34

Yeah. Oh, love it. Amen, sister. So you mentioned vulnerability, vulnerability before. And you know that this work, you know, depending on whom you're writing to and what you're writing about, it can really put people in a vulnerable space. And so I'm thinking from a leadership perspective, for a leader, what is leading with vulnerability look like in practice? And how can the simple act of writing a letter or a note help to build more trust and rapport with team members?

Amy Daughters: 18:06

Right. I think, you know, leading with vulnerability, you you know, you when you absolutely are going to show a personal side of you or a personal element of you, people are going to appreciate that. But I know from white writing notes, I still write a note to someone every day just because it's it's intoxicating and it's the best version of me and it honors the whole story, and I can't stop myself anyway. But every morning when I sit down and write Dr. O, I still feel like, oh my God, I can't believe I'm gonna say this. And I have written hundreds upon hundreds of notes. And so I think as a leader, when you sit down to do this, the people I've worked with, you're gonna have that moment. You're gonna be like, this is a great idea. Like I've bought into it, but I don't think I can do it. I'm gonna, it's like a huge speed bump. And you're like, wait, or maybe in a hurdle, you're gonna be, wait, what am I gonna what am I gonna say and how is this going to be received? Because no one does this, you know. But if you can be sincere and brief and just push yourself over that whole hurdle in in the name of goodness and connection and genuine leadership, then magical things are gonna happen. But my advice in that vulnerability, because there's something so deep in the human connectivity of this notewriting. You know, what you're gonna by by getting over that speed bump, that hurdle, you're gonna show somebody a part of yourself, and they're gonna see you in a different way. You're gonna see yourself in a different way, and it's gonna pay off on so many different levels. So if you just get yourself over, and the way to get yourself over is to be brief and be sincere and specific. And it could be something as easy as, you know, hey doctor, when we were in that meeting yesterday, that idea you had that was incredible. Thank you so much. I can't wait to see what what you do next, Amy Daughters. Yeah, or or you write me, it could be as simple as, Amy, you know, like let's say I I work for you. Amy, we heard about, you know, the loss of your dad. The team and I are all supporting you. We're so sorry. Your name. And you don't have to say love or sincerely, you don't have to even have a sign-off. And you do it with your own personality, but looking for something specific and being very brief takes, I think takes some of the vulnerability out because you can reread it and feel you can stand behind your words, you know.

Dr. Leah OH: 20:15

Yeah, I love that. That's so helpful because I had written down brief when you were saying that. And I think for a lot of folks, that, like you said, removes one of the hurdles. And I think too, the sign-off. I think that's something that a lot of folks are like, what do I say? They don't want to fumble it at that point. And I think you're right, just your name can remove any potential anxiety. And thank you for raising those two points up. I think it really helps to simplify it. When you're talking, I was thinking too, because a lot of my work in coaching leaders are like, well, I don't want to reveal private information, my team. I'm like, it's personal, not private. Right. There's a difference, and that's where it, that's where we want to lean. We want to make sure it's not sensitive information, we're not comfortable sharing. But if we're leaning to our experiences or just acknowledging how we feel or how we hope they feel, that is a different story.

Amy Daughters: 21:08

Yeah, and I think you asked yourself, am I being sincere? Absolutely. I'm being sincere. You know, that's a sincere, yeah, you know, and I and I think that's it. And I think we that's what rehumanizes, that's what gives the feeling. That's why, that's why it's gonna be a tool that you know, that like again. I mean, it's uh a pizza party is not gonna do better. Even recognition, this is so one-on-one and personal that they're going to feel the love. And I say the love, but it's the value, it's that deep human need we have to be seen and heard and valued. And it can be done so simply.

Dr. Leah OH: 21:41

Exactly. So, Amy, my next question, we've kind of touched on some of this already, but I'm thinking about the communication beyond the words. And we kind of talked about the, you know, what it symbolizes, but I'm wondering in your work and your experience, you know, the coaching and connecting you're doing, the leaders who are engaging in writing these notes, like you said, the the manager who's doing it once a week and now is doing it twice, you know, from other folks like her and similar, what does it say about their values and their priorities?

Amy Daughters: 22:12

Right. And I think what they're what they're doing is putting the I think it's looking at a person. So almost like changing the language we use about it's like a language, a mindset shift. We're saying, you know, we're taking somebody from being an employee and we're saying, wait, first you're a human being. You know, we're taking a customer and saying, hey, you're not just somebody who keeps the door open, you're somebody who's experiencing this real messy, beautiful, tragic, triumphant life inside these walls and outside of these walls.

Dr. Leah OH: 22:47

Yes. Yep, that was said beautifully, Amy. I love that. And and thinking more about what happens when leaders, because especially a lot of times they're the ones who are setting the tone for an organization, for a team. So if they want to foster this handwritten culture in their organization, you know, what are either some well, first I would like to talk about the kind of the pitfalls or the pain points, resistance that might come up, and then how they might overcome that when they're looking to kind of embrace and foster this mindset shift you're talking about. Right.

Amy Daughters: 23:23

And I and I think that every organization or every team, you know, is different. So I think it's important to employ this within the context of what works for you. But I first of all, I would say set the example. You know, you you you you're the starting point as as the leader, you know. But I have to think you can make this fun. You know, you can have a Friday once a month where you all get together and you bring in some kind of lunch and then you have note cards and say, look, here's the deal. If you want to come to lunch, then you have to write two sentences to someone else in this organization, and you have to put it in an envelope and just deliver it, you know. And and I think that that's a way to get people engaged. But I think, but then you also take it seriously enough where you have the tools available for people. And this is a super low investment, you know, thing. You could have someone come in and talk about it like me. I'm not I'm not advertising myself, but that's something I definitely do. But you know, you get everyone started on the same page, and then you have a station where these cards and pens lit lit live, you know, where where they're there, and it's a part of your regular culture. And then then you I think the next step, you know, you have a journal, people keep up a little thing where they write who they're going to write to. You know, there's so many steps you can do this, but you really can't, you you can't, I don't think you can get it wrong, but I think making a serious component of your organization, that handwritten mindset is people are going to start looking at each other differently. You know, and you could even make again a fun requirement that they do it twice a month when you get together for lunch. Yeah. But yeah, my in my experience, that will kick off something further. Yeah. When people begin to see how good it is, it will take a and just make sure you have the supplies ready because it will take a life of its own.

Dr. Leah OH: 25:06

Exactly. And that's so, like you said, it's really simple. It's it's not a huge financial investment or even time investment. But I think so many leaders in organizations, we even overlook overlook these simple things. And right, like you said, everyone is busy. Our title leaders are incredibly busy, but you know, making that purchase and spending $20 to $30 and having these things available, seeing how it goes, encouraging that, having the kickoff where everyone is sitting there watching everyone else engage in this practice, it's such a thoughtful way to let this idea take root.

Amy Daughters: 25:46

Right. And it and it does, it will push the gauge on employee employee engagement. I've seen that in my experience. And if you would have told the little person writing letter number 30 that that was gonna be the case, but you know, you think about we spend, you know, I don't know, I think I've read like 90,000 hour hours of our life in the workplace. You know, and if we can employ this kind of goodwill, you know, and it will bring, I mean, you know, everyone it it puts everyone on a different page because we're all in it together then, you know, and it works across organizations, up and down, outside the walls. It works everywhere, again, where there's anywhere there's two human beings trying to connect.

Dr. Leah OH: 26:24

Yeah, yeah. And that's a really thoughtful reminder that we can write up to a leader, we can write down to an employee, we can write laterally, and outside, thinking about our customers, our clients, our stakeholders, those that we serve. It's a great way to engage everyone. Right.

Amy Daughters: 26:41

And it can be, though, though, the first thing I think we think of in a professional context is we think let's recognize things at work. You can go outside of that. Like you said, I'm gonna use this again. It's not private, it's personal. Yeah, but if you but you think about the most human things we experience, it's our kids graduating or someone having a grandkid or those things, and you don't have to get private or even really personal. You just say one sentence. Yeah, exactly. Congratulations. I'm sorry. Thank you. Yep. Way to go. Those are human emotions that when you say it to someone else, they feel like, oh, wait, they care about me this much. They will absolutely go to wall for you.

Dr. Leah OH: 27:22

Yep, yeah. I am seen. Excellent. So, Amy, I have two final questions for you, and they go hand in hand. This is how we end all episodes of the communicative leader. And the first question is the advice for our leaders, so our folks who are managers, directors, you know, what is your pragmatic communication leadership tip for them, advice, a challenge? And then the second part is advice for employees of all ranks. What do you want to leave them with?

Amy Daughters: 27:53

Right. I think for the leaders, it's gonna be an obvious statement. You know, I would challenge in the next three weeks as you listen to this to write one note each of those three weeks and just keep it totally simple, you know. And I would challenge you to take a little piece of paper or a notepad or whatever you have and look around the people who work at you work for you and make a little list of a reason you could write these people a note and see what happens if you gain any traction between those two things. And I would challenge you to do that regardless of how it makes you feel. And again, I would challenge you to be brief. And you know, if you go look my website, my email address is on there. If you're worried about what you're gonna say, I have a lot of experience with this, email me and I will email you back and and give you my advice about what you've said, and I will absolutely have my email on. So I will respond. And to the employees, I think the great thing about my story is that it just happened to me, but then I I and I'm not blowing smoke up my own rear end, I'm just saying it happened. But what happened was I had this idea and I went with it, regardless of the fact that it didn't make any sense, regardless of the fact that like what was I really doing? I think if all of us, employees, people from all ranks and file would just believe in our own little idea, just enough to take one step forward, we would change the whole entire world. And so I'm speaking outside of notewriting, like beyond that, you know, and I think it is an employee that puts you in a perfect spot because we all sit there and have ideas in our workplaces. So, what's your idea? And will you take yourself seriously enough to share it or to act on it or to start to plan and take your own self seriously?

Dr. Leah OH: 29:32

So powerful, Amy. So I was thinking with the advice to leaders and encouraging them to notice those they work with and notice what they're doing. I think once we start taking note of those positives and writing it down, it changes the lens. Because I think, especially for our title leaders, a lot of times they're looking to say who didn't do what? What do I have to pick up? What deadline was missed? But this flips it to say, wow, Amy is working. Working so hard. Look at that innovative idea. Right. And that going back to that handwritten culture, it's a great way to start doing that. Right.

Amy Daughters: 30:11

And I keep a I keep a notebook by my desk. I mean, I have it right here. And it's got like five tabs. And it's like, thank you, support, sympathy. And so, and I write it down because then when I go to write my note in the morning, I don't have to go do any research. Yes. And I've seen a lot of leaders like the woman I talked about who got all the people work for. Yeah. They put other people as their eyes and ears. Like they they told people in meetings, like, tell me you have to give me two people this week, you know, because it's unmanageable. You you can't know about 1,500 people. That's impossible.

Dr. Leah OH: 30:43

Exactly. Yeah. And it makes it, I would imagine, too, even more special to recognize that someone else took note of your work. Then they went and reported it all the way up the ladder, and that person wrote you a handwritten note.

Amy Daughters: 30:56

Right. And then just a quick story. I I was doing a podcast with a guy, with a guy who was taught, I don't know what we were talking about, leadership, I think. And we were talking about the whole thing. And he said, wait a second. And he like, we stopped the recording. And he he, I think he was in his his house. So he went back to his room. He came back out and he said, Let me tell you the story. He said, I was a nurse at the beginning of my career before I did the leadership coaching. And he said, I was just getting started at this big hospital group, and I went to a meeting and I set an idea. And he said, like two weeks later, I got a handwritten little note from the CEO of this hospital group. And it said, I can't wait to see what you do here. You know, great job in the meeting. Signed his name. He said, that was 10 years ago. That note has been in my bedside table since there. He still had it and showed me on the podcast. That's the power you have. That's the power. Exactly.

Dr. Leah OH: 31:46

Yeah. And Amy, too, thank you for shining a light onto the power of employees, everyone out there, and believing in themselves because we get to see the power of your idea, you know, and and how far it has reached. And I know it's just going to keep continuing to do so. Well, thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah. Amy, thank you for sharing your time with us. This has been a delightful conversation. I know that I'm working through figuring out, you know, how I'm going to integrate this into my routine and the groups of people that I can, you know, acknowledge and connect with through handwritten letters or notes. And I really think that so many of our listeners will be doing the same. Well, thank you so much.

Amy Daughters: 32:32

It's the honor to be on your program. Thank you.

Dr. Leah OH: 32:37

All right, my friends, that wraps up our conversation today. Until next time, communicate with intention and lead with purpose. I'm looking forward to chatting with you again soon on the Communicative Leader.