The Power Of A Leadership 'Thank You'

I don’t want to pass up the opportunity to share an article I read about leadership. Here are a few highlights:

I was reading the anonymous comments from our semi-annual employee survey recently and a specific one jumped out at me. The comment read, "It is great to work at a place where senior leadership takes the time to say 'thank you' to employees on a regular basis."

It struck me not because it was about senior leadership but because it mentioned something I have been explicitly trying to do as a leader more often throughout the last year. The fact that it came back in an employee survey means it's reaching some of my employees and having an impact.

As leaders, we have all heard that employees leave because they don't feel appreciated. Sometimes, as leaders, that translates to "I want a raise" or "I want a bonus." We hear dollar signs and impacts to budgets, but that largely isn't what employees are telling us. They are telling us they want to be heard and recognised for the work they do.

As senior leaders, we need to create a culture where this happens. We create the culture by modeling the right behavior and helping our leaders continue to develop their own behaviors that reinforce that culture.

There are some very simple actions that we as senior leaders can do to recognise employees.

1. Ensure organisational messages thank employees en masse for the work they are doing. We all have to send out regular updates to our organisations to communicate changes, results, updates and other information. Make a habit at the beginning or end of the message to find a way to thank the team for the work it's doing. For example: "We would not have accomplished the results this quarter without everyone doing their part. Thank you for your efforts." Simple, broad recognition is an easy place to start.

2. Recognise effort and accomplishment during milestones. Many organisations announce the completion of small projects or milestones. When this happens, make a point to get a copy of the email thread and chime in with a note of thanks. This may be a team or individual who is just doing their job, but ensuring that they know a senior leader saw their effort and recognised them as a group or individual makes a difference. Don't hesitate to send a string of individual messages to team members as opposed to large group "thank you" notes. Those individual notes make a difference.

3. Use face-to-face meetings to communicate honestly. As a senior leader, many of us have an opportunity to meet with underlying project teams at various points. Make a point to start the meeting and end the meeting with a "thank you" to those in the room for the work that they do. These little moments of recognition mean a great deal to employees. Be honest and open with your communications. Even if it is a tough meeting with a harder message, many employees want to have their efforts recognised—even if the desired outcomes aren't being achieved.

4. Spontaneous and informal communications. One of my new practices this past year has been recording spontaneous and informal video messages for the team. I might be at a conference presenting or in my office reviewing metrics, but I try to make a point to share excitement about the achievements of the organisation. Each of these short videos always concludes with a "thank you" to the organisation and how proud I am to represent this organisation. I am not only communicating excitement and accomplishment, but it also gives me an opportunity to regularly thank everyone in the organisation for their efforts. Some easy tools for recording these videos include Microsoft Teams (use "Meet Now" and record) or even Loom.

Using these actions, we as senior leaders can help drive a culture of appreciation for our organisations. I think we are better leaders when we create a culture of appreciation and recognition, but there are also real business outcomes.

Want to know more? Head on over to the full article here for more ideas and perspectives. Afterwards, why not drop me an email to share your thoughts at [email protected]; or call me on 0467 749 378.

Thanks,

Robert