In honor of Employee Appreciation Day, this Friday, March 3, Russ and Kim talk about cultivating a sense of appreciation within your team. They explain why many bosses aren’t great at this and share some tips for showing appreciation this week!
Listen now!
At a Glance
Employee Appreciation Day is a great reminder that showing appreciation is important. And it’s not just for managers to give to their direct reports! Kim and Russ share advice that you can use for showing appreciation to your peers and boss as well, without sounding like you’re kissing up :)
Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation once said,
Teddy Roosevelt said, ‘Far and away the best prize that life has to offer, is a chance to work hard at work worth doing.’ And I would add that what makes work worth doing, is getting to do it with people that you love.
Cultivating a sense of appreciation, and showing that appreciation, will make your work more fun and strengthen your relationships with the people you work with. If you’re a manager, showing appreciation is core to your job. The key is to be specific and sincere.
Kim and Russ talk about some of the reasons that people don’t show appreciation. Sometimes they forget because they’re busy, or they don’t know it’s necessary. People might also be afraid they’ll say the wrong thing, that they won’t look genuine, or that they’ll look like they’re kissing up or playing favorites. Others might misunderstand what recognition looks like or what it’s really for.
Next, Kim and Russ share a story about a boss who showed appreciation, but not in the right way.
I thought it was impossible to pay me a lot of money and make me feel worse at the same time, but this manager pulled it off.
Kim and Russ emphasize that feeling and sincerely showing appreciation makes work more fun.
It starts with that genuine delight that you get when the people around you are doing stuff that you could never do alone.
The episode ends, as always, with the Candor Checklist.
The Candor Checklist
Our concrete tips for showing appreciation the right way:
Tip 1: Tell people why their work matters so much.
Tip 2: Celebrate milestones.
Tip 3: Send hand-written thank you notes.
Listen to the episode for the explanations of these tips.
Related Links
Looking for more on praise and recognition? Check out these links.
- We read about Sirota Consulting’s study in this article
- Tips for praise (one type of appreciation)
- A story of recognition gone wrong
- Ruinous Empathy praise stories
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