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Times are challenging. Work is frenetic. Your people are digging in and doing their best to produce good work. You want to acknowledge this and thank them for their efforts. But you aren’t quite sure what to say.
Expressing appreciation to people at work (and in life) can go a long way. Many people work tirelessly without any acknowledgment. A paycheque is never enough when it comes to fostering long-term good will, heightened engagement and discretionary extra effort. People want to feel recognized and appreciated.
Expressing appreciation comes naturally to some people but for others it might feel awkward. If you manage people, it is important to learn this skill. It doesn’t have to be perfect nor does it have to be in person. But it should be meaningful.
October is the month for giving thanks. This should be a year-round behaviour so, if you have fallen short on this, now is the time to start.
Here are three tips to make it more meaningful:
1. Be specific about what you’ve noticed and appreciated
A generic thank you isn’t quite as powerful as one that is more customized to the person and the situation.
While “thanks, great job" is fine, you can add more substance by sharing more specifically what you’ve noticed and appreciate.
“Thank you, Marcel, for your work on this proposal. You worked hard on this and I appreciate your effort and how you made it so easy to read. I also know you had to jump through hoops to get all the data in on time for the research section. Well done!”
Imagine how Marcel will feel about these words of appreciation versus the rote “hey thanks, great job” version.
2. Acknowledge the person and not just the outcome
When people do excellent work (such as what Marcel did in the example above), it’s an ideal time to not only express appreciation for the outcome and their effort, but also for the person’s character that contributed to the outcome.
Building on the earlier example, you can expand on the behaviours (jumping hoops) and outcome (easy to read) to cite their strengths and skills that were exemplified.
Something like this:
“Marcel, I really appreciate the effort you made on this proposal. You jumped through hoops, to get the data in on time. And your creativity and good judgment really showed up in how you made the report so easy to read. Your ‘make-it-happen’ resourcefulness once again shined through. Thank you for all that!”
Not only is Marcel now feeling appreciated for his effort on this proposal, but also for his character strengths including hard work, creativity, good judgment and resourcefulness. He feels seen, appreciated as a person. These strengths are transferable. They don’t expire after the project is over.
This kind of thank you, wrapped into acknowledgment of the person can help build that person’s self awareness and confidence. Marcel wasn’t even aware of his strengths (many people are not aware of their own strengths). When someone else calls out our strengths and virtues and gives them a name (for example, creativity, make-it-happen resourcefulness) this can bolster our self awareness and confidence.
If you are leader and/or someone who wants to support other people’s growth and confidence, use every opportunity to take a strengths-based approach to feedback and acknowledgement.
3. Share the impact of their effort
Sometimes people feel frustrated with their work because they don’t get a sense of how their efforts make a difference. In Marcel’s case, he worked on parts of the proposal while others contributed to the proposal in diverse ways. Sharing the impact his contribution made can add additional meaning to the mix. For example, in addition to the examples above, perhaps something like this:
“Marcel, because of your contribution we were able to present a solid proposal and have been short-listed so we now have a better chance at winning the business. We couldn’t have done this without your excellent work.”
Morale of the story
Of course these are all are simple examples, but you can use your own style and language to suit the situation. What’s most important is to make it meaningful by customizing your words for the individual and context, be specific in what you noticed and appreciated, acknowledge the person’s character strengths in play and not just the outcome and, finally, share the impact they had.
Giving meaningful thanks contributes to a more positive, generous, high-performing work culture.
Eileen Chadnick, PCC, of Big Cheese Coaching, is an ICF credentialed, two-time ICF (International Coaching Federation) Prism award winner, who works with leaders (emerging to experienced), and organizations, on navigating, leading and flourishing in times of flux, opportunity and challenge. She is the author of Ease: Manage Overwhelm in Times of Crazy Busy.