The Importance of 'Invisible Ingredients' in Your Organization

When I worked for Mike Young at Wofford College, we would eat lunch at the on campus dining hall, Burwell, and he would always walk through the kitchen. I never asked him why but, I think I know now.

He made sure he showed love to what I call “invisible ingredients” ... and I’m not talking about the food, I’m referring to the people preparing the food.

In our first team meeting, we always make sure we let the guys know they will receive pop quizzes on many different people on campus throughout the year. We put up a picture of someone we feel they should know their name and their occupation and ask who it is.

After I gave them their first pop quiz this year -- which had pictures of housekeepers, athletic trainers, our radio talent, and our President to name a few -- I asked them, "Have you guys ever made a dish and left one ingredient out and it didn’t taste right?"

Many of my guys love to cook and will send pictures or videos of their dinner in our group chat at night. They immediately understood. We do this every year because we know that every program, organization, or company has "invisible ingredients" -- the people that don’t get as much recognition by society as some others in the company.

These are the ones that hold everything together behind the scenes.

This came full circle when I was an assistant at the University of Florida. I'll never forget it. We had a housekeeper, Mrs. Freddie, who never seemed to have a bad day. We always treated her with respect.

Fast forward a few years and we were recruiting a local kid who we thought would be pretty good. We found out that Mrs. Freddie and this local kid’s grandmother were really good friends. That "local kid" turned out to be Tre Mann, a 5-star McDonald’s All-American who is currently with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Everybody has a vital role to play in an organization, especially those "invisible ingredients."