Leading with Gratitude

According to a Glassdoor survey, 81% of the staff state that they would work harder if their direct-line manager showed them more recognition. Numerous works have shown the importance of this factor in staff motivation and performance. Yet, the professional sphere remains the place where we are the most reticent to express our thanks.

The authors analyze the reasons behind this discrepancy and explain it through several persistent myths. For example: “Thanking employees is like inviting them to take it easy.” On the contrary, they defend the idea that recognition constitutes the most essential and effective of management actions. They then propose eight pieces of advice to express gratitude aptly, such as putting yourself in the other person’s shoes in order to personalize the message, or yet making an explicit link between the value brought to the company by the staff and the thanks. Because we should not thank “to be kind”, the authors underline, but rather to manage effectively.

An outlook without naïve optimism, with an appreciable bird’s eye view.