This week, I heard a quick presentation about “Thank you”. Two words we all can use more. Both in a personal and business life. Here are a few quick tips to make your “Thank you” more impactful.
Be specific.
Say what you appreciate. You will benefit from doing so in 2 ways:
- The person you are praising will know you mean it and it’s not just an empty phrase.
- Humans tend to repeat behavior they (or others) were praised for. In psychology, it is called “Positive Reinforcement“.
Positive reinforcement refers to the introduction of a desirable or pleasant stimulus after a behavior. The desirable stimulus reinforces the behavior, making it more likely that the behavior will reoccur.
(source)
Personalize it.
If you say every week to your team “Thanks, you all are doing a good job“, it’s definitely better than nothing.
But it may wear off after a certain time.
Adress the praise to a specific person for a specific thing. Do it in front of her or his colleagues.
Everyone will want to earn their moment of fame.
Mean it.
I’ve worked with a guy who used to say at the end of the day “Bye Lukas, thank you“.
After a few days, I felt really odd thinking “what the heck he’s thanking me for“.
Then I realized it’s the same as saying “Hi, how are you?” – no one really means to know how you are doing.
If you are praising someone, mean it. Make sure your body language corresponds with it. Look in the eyes and say it confidently.
Make it your habit.
As a leader, you want to praise your team regularly.
(If there is what for – if not, you’ve got a bigger problem to solve.)
Thank people even for small things.
Why not start every weekly meeting with a thank you to someone from your team who did something well?
Make sure your people know you noticed their work.
Do you need help with motivating your team?
Check Operations Audit and let us help!
Lukas Krejca
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