#My2centson: Here's a Thanks, pass it on.

Reference article: No, I won't thank my employees for doing their job.

One of the primary reasons this article caught my eye is the fact that every day as HR representatives we deal with such people who are genuine but have been turned cynical by the system they work in; like the manager who write's to Liz. In all fairness he does make a point. You get paid to do your job, and that in itself should be motivation enough for you to continue. But what struck me the most was how deprived of acknowledgement he himself was!

'Acknowledgement' is the key word here; the primary driving force behind any form of motivation. Unless acknowledged, a person will become resentful, cynical and dissatisfied, which is very detrimental in the long run not just to individual careers but to the functioning of an organization as well. It does not take much to thank someone, but it makes a whole lot of difference to the person's morale, even if they are just doing their job! More than anything, it let's the person to know that you value their presence. But we as employees are often plagued by the 'Me' syndrome. All we think about is how we are impacted - Who is taking the onus to appreciate 'me'? How will this activity benefit 'me'? . Very rarely do we think about the impact we have on others around us. We saddle our managers and leaders with mountains of expectations - They must be dynamic, they must be able to groom us, they must be achievers and inspiring personalities; but how often do we acknowledge their existing strengths?

Do any of us really approach our manager/supervisor/boss and appreciate something about them that we liked? How many times do we put out a genuine 'Thank You' across the table, apart from the cursory, involuntary one that we spout out at every relevant occasion? You need not worship your manager, be in awe of them, or even like them as a person. But ever individual has a capability based on which they succeed in life, and if there is someone in this organizational universe who deems your manager capable of handling a team and reporting employees like you, there is definitely something that you can learn from them.

Let us try to break the barrier. Why should appreciation be top-down only? Why can we not have a 360 degree appreciation put into practice, just like the feedback mechanism of the same name? Would you be game to conceptualize and implement something like this? Let me know your thoughts!

Send me a message if you are interested to pen down your thoughts and I will provide you with an article/news item you can write on under the #My2centson banner!