In Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, he states that employees must not feel anonymous where they work.  In other words, they must be noticed and appreciated for what they do.   What better time than this Thanksgiving week to show that gratitude?  One way that Patrick recommends leaders do this is by telling their employees the impact they have on them as a leader. Showing this appreciation is often best done face to face but the phone will work as well.  Let me give a few examples of what I mean…

 “Amanda, I want you to know that your role as the front office coordinator makes my job easier because you schedule appointments and screen my phone calls so I can stay focused on my most critical tasks.”  I want to thank you for doing such a great job at this and making my job easier.

With this message you are doing two things.  One is telling them how relevant their work is to you personally and the other is showing your appreciation for them and the work they do.

Here is another example:

“Lance, I want you to know that getting these financial reports to me in a timely manner really helps me make better decisions in both the short and long term for our department.  I want to thank you for doing such a great job at this and making my job easier.”

To make it easier for you to do this just fill in the blanks for you own dialogue:

“(Name of person) I want you to know that when you do (describe their most helpful work) it makes my job easier by (describe the benefit to you).  I want to thank you for doing such a great job at this and having such an impact on me and my work.”

Now, I promised two ways to show gratitude at work this week and the second tip is to go to your boss and let them know how appreciative you are of them as your boss and the work they do.  I bet you are thinking I am crazy here!!!  What if you don’t like your boss?  I believe there is one aspect of your boss that you can show appreciation for and also to be appreciative of a job since there are currently 23,000,000 people still out of work.  So what would this look and sound like?

“Mary, I want to thank you for the extra help you gave me last week on that customer satisfaction survey that I had trouble with.  Also, I want to thank you for the opportunity to work in a job that I enjoy.”

That is it!  It does not need to be any more complicated than that.  Let me give you a fill in the blank statement to get you started:

“(Name of boss) I want to thank you for providing (what have they done over the last few months or years that makes your job easier).  Also, I want to thank you for the opportunity to work in a job that I enjoy.”

Being a boss can be a lonely job and they really need and appreciate any praise coming their way….really!

Question for You:

Do you find it easy to notice what is going wrong with your employees or boss?  Do you find it awkward to sincerely say “thank you” in a specific way?

Action for You:

This week take stock of all that you have in your personal and professional life.  Are there people that have contributed to your success?  Let them know during a week that is meant to reflect on all that you have and are thankful for…..  By the way, these scripts work great with spouses, significant others and children at homeJ