Appreciation Flows Both Ways

Appreciation Flows Both Ways

An Administrative Professional I recently met works for the head doctor of a large medical practice.  Most workers in the practice are rather intimidated by him and his position.  But because she works directly for him, she has an opportunity to see (and comment upon) his kindness and actions more often than others who are not in this position.  Every once in a while, she writes her boss a note about something she really appreciates about him or something he did.  While you may assume that this would mean nothing to such an important and highly placed man in the organization, he prizes those notes so much that he brings them home to show his wife!

How often do leadership training programs stress the importance of leaders recognizing and rewarding great work, fantastic attitudes, and an excellent work ethic in the people who work for them?  All the time… and rightly so, because it is necessary for great leaders to inspire WOW performance and attitudes through formal and informal means of appreciation.

But have you ever thought about how often those above you in leadership positions ever receive ANY kind of informal appreciation from others?  Even though these leaders get higher compensation, perks, and other monetary rewards for being in those positions, they are still human… and all humans appreciate hearing it once in a while.

Most leaders don’t receive the same recognition as other employees because employees in lower level positions may be intimidated by the leader’s position and not feel comfortable giving praise upward (especially to those in much higher levels of the organization).

However, although leaders are usually adequately rewarded monetarily for their efforts, study after study tells us that compensation is often 4th in the list of desired job attributes, the top three being that people want to be valued, appreciated, and listened to.  If leaders never receive the “Appreciation” portion of this equation, they miss out on what most humans desire: consistent validation that they are making a difference on a human level.  This could cause leaders to forget what it’s like to be “human” on the job, forgetting how good it feels to be informally appreciated occasionally.  It may also foster feelings and attitudes, such as, “I don’t get any appreciation, and I’m doing just fine; if it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for them!”

Remember that leaders are human, too – and appreciation flows both ways.  The next time you see an appropriate opportunity to let a leader in your organization know how much you appreciate something they just did (or even what they do on a regular basis), create a WOW for them and say something about it.

If we start reminding our leaders of how great it feels to receive small acts of appreciation from others, it just might inspire them to do it more often in return – for everyone they lead.