Magical! The Power of
Thank You
On a very cold winter Saturday, I
decided to spend time with my three-year-old daughter watching nursery rhymes
and songs on YouTube. She suddenly jumped off the couch, her eyes were beaming
with excitement, and she was preparing to sing along to the song, this song!
“Thank
you, thank you, thank you…these are the magic words that you can say…”
She
danced, threw her hands in the air, and when the part of “thank you” came up,
she yelled it. I need you to know that my daughter’s voice naturally sounds
like she swallowed a microphone, so just imagine her screaming “THANK YOU”.
You may have grown up in an
environment where the importance of “thank you” was emphasized and how those
simple words can mean a lot. To some, “thank you” means “I see your efforts”.
To others it means “you rock!”, and some people see it as “you did not have to
do it, but I am glad you did anyway”. So, if we grew up knowing how deep and
special “thank you” is, why don’t we hear enough of it at work? Why do some
leaders and managers withhold these magical words from their followers,
employees, and constituents?
I have five guesses why leaders do
not show appreciation to their constituents:
- They do not know that appreciation boosts employee’s productivity (Kouzes and Posner, 2017).
- They have no idea that appreciation boosts their employee’s confidence and mental state.
- They have not seen the statistics that 79% of people who leave their jobs do so because of lack of appreciation (Aranoff, Barlas, Figgie, and Kirk, 2005).
- They do not know that withholding appreciation handicaps their own managerial and leadership effectiveness (Wagner and Harter, 2006).
- And for sure they have not read the articles that show that appreciation leads to increased levels of interpersonal trust, honesty, and respect (Abugre, 2012).
I
am hoping “they” read this piece and understand that my daughter’s favorite
nursery rhyme is accurate; THANK YOU is MAGICAL, and it can have a positive
impact on your organization’s work climate.
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