All the best leaders in my career were quite adept at this one skill. To be honest, when I was a young manager, I didn’t see the importance. No big surprise, I was not very good at it either.
But sometimes, with age and experience comes wisdom. I began to see how developing this one skill could make me a more effective leader. So, I started working on it, and as I got older, I managed to get a little better.
What is this one skill the best leaders do more than anyone else?
It is simple, really. So simple it is often overlooked. It is the skill of showing appreciation. It is the ability to say, “Thanks, Good Job.”
The Bible includes a great example of a leader saying, “Thanks, Good Job.”
Nehemiah’s 3-Step Model
One of my favorite leaders in the Old Testament is Nehemiah. The walls and gates of Jerusalem sat in disrepair for 76-years after the Jewish exiles returned. Then Nehemiah came along. Nehemiah managed to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem in only 52-days.
Quite an accomplishment!
Nehemiah expressed appreciation for the work of the people in three important ways. He recognized their motivation. He recognized individuals personally. And, he recognized their specific contributions.
Motivation
The people, says Nehemiah, worked with all their heart (Nehemiah 4:6). Nehemiah recognized the rebuilding of the walls and gates, so long ignored, was an accomplishment made possible only because the people really cared; they worked with all their heart!
Personal
Nehemiah called out every leader and family by name that put their efforts into rebuilding the city’s walls and gates (Nehemiah 3). Almost all the people of the city turned out to help in the work. It would be easy to say as a group, they all helped, but Nehemiah took the time to recognize them individually.
Specific
Finally, as Nehemiah recognized individuals, he called out the specific work they did in detail (Nehemiah 3).
For example, Nehemiah tells us one man named, Shallun rebuilt and reroofed the Fountain gate, then installed its doors, bolts, and bar. Then Shallun went on to repair a section of the city wall from the Pool of Shelah to the stairs that descend from the city.
Nehemiah recognized how hard the people worked. He recognized people as individuals, not just as a big group. And, he recognized in great detail their specific contributions.
As leaders, we need to recognize people the same way today. I saw it many times in my career, but one of my favorite examples from P&G comes from a good friend and coworker named Mark.
A Best-in-Class Example
My friend, Mark, was responsible for the product supply logistics of a major new product launch at P&G.
Mark created a unique distribution system to support the national launch, complete with a war-room staffed with our best people to ensure every case of product arrived at its destination on time.
Hundreds of semi-trucks were loaded with tens of thousands of cases of product. Because of Mark and his team, every case arrived where it was supposed to be, and they all arrived on time.
It was a truly amazing accomplishment, unheard of even in the storied halls of P&G.
While that was an incredible achievement, it is what Mark did next that sets him apart as a leader.
Mark took the time to draft thank-you letters for every member of his team. Within the letters’ body, Mark called out specific things that people did that contributed to their success.
And then, instead of signing them himself, Mark asked our CEO to sign the letters. Imagine how the people on Mark’s team felt when he presented each of them with a personalized commendation letter from the CEO! Mind you, P&G had somewhere north of 135,000 employees at the time, so getting a personal letter from the CEO was a once-in-a-career kind of event.
But it only happened because Mark cared enough to find an extraordinary way to say, “Thanks, Good Job.”
Model Leaders
Recognizing people and showing appreciation for their dedication and hard work is not hard, folks. But it does take some time and some thought.
So, the next time you have a chance to recognize someone, or a team of people, consider Nehemiah’s model and Mark’s example.
- Recognize individual’s motivation. People need to know the boss sees their dedication and appreciates it. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking they already know you appreciate them. You need to say it!
- Make it personal. It is nice to congratulate the team for work well done, but it means a lot more to the individual to hear their name mentioned in a word of thanks.
- Make it specific. Saying, “thanks, good job” is great, but when you can say thanks and be specific about what is so appreciated about their work, it means a great deal more.
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Do you have any other suggestions for showing appreciation to individuals or organizations? How have you seen it done in organizations where you’ve worked?
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Category: Skills | Human Resource Development
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