A Personal “Thank You” Story
One of my first ever career highlights came into my inbox at 11:00pm. It was a brief note from the CEO at my first “real job.” Context: this company had almost 900 employees worldwide and this CEO had an industry resume that made my then inexperienced-self a bit awestruck.
Our company was in the middle of restructuring. We had to let a lot of fantastic colleagues go and it broke everyone's heart on all organizational levels. To make sure everyone could participate in the difficult conversation, we rented an enormous theater in Vancouver to host a town-hall that would be live-broadcast to our international locations. I accepted the request from our head of HR to moderate the event (to the great suprise of my then manager: "Gutsy," I think he had said.) This was my first public speaking experience and I was terrified but thrilled at the challenge.
I don't remember how I did because I kind of blacked-out with nervousness. What I do remember clearly is the email that came that night from our CEO.
The exact wording I don't recall. It was simply a sincere and generous thank you for my moderation of a very difficult conversation. He was specific about the positive impact my role had had that day and why it was important to him and the company.
My heart burst with pride and excitement reading it (several times over). I was gobsmacked that not only did he "notice" my role in the event amidst the chaos he had to deal with, but he sent me a personal message to say thanks?! He could have just assumed that's what I was hired to do. He could have kept his focus on the more experienced and influenctial players during this big, tough situation.
To have my efforts so personally acknowledged was as if my favourite pop-star had blown me a kiss from stage.
The power of a direct, specific, and personal thank you cannot be overstated. I don't care if it's for something your employees are hired to do. We are all humans behind our job titles, with our emotions and vulnerabilities. And most of us are really trying our best!
We long to feel appreciated for the value we bring.
If you have team leadership responsibilities, I implore you - leverage the power of SPECIFIC thank yous. It brings beautiful humanity to workplace moments in ways you may never realize.
Some practical points:
In 2017, Harvard Business Review surveyed over 7000 managers and learned that 37% did not give positive reinforcement. Thank yous ARE positive reinforcement. Don’t be part of this demographic, please!
Here are some tips:
Do do it directly to one person. "Hi Jeremy, I wanted to take a minute to thank you for...."
Don't think that general thank-yous suffice: "Thanks for everyone's involvement at the last week, great work." While this doesn’t do much harm, it doesn’t accomplish much either.
Do be specific about what you're thanking him/her for. "The way you kept your cool when our Mr. Smith raised his voice at us in the meeting really exemplified our value of 'respect.’"
Don't be too vague and avoid saying exactly what you appreciate. "Good session with Mr. Smith yesterday” just feels like small talk. What was done well? What impact did it have?
Do consider communicating some of your thank yous publically. When this is appropriate is obviously context-specific, but it can work wonders in boosting confidence of some employees, and/or of shifting group behaviour into a desired direction.
Don't assume thank yous need to be private. A culture of valuing one another starts when management role models it!
Here’s your open invitation for the day - tell someone “thank you” for a specific job well done. A seed of good vibes will hopefully ensue.