Appreciation Appreciates: How to Give Meaningful Praise that Inspires and Engages

There is an old saying that what you appreciate appreciates. Meaning that when you value something that value grows. The same is true for people. People like to hear what they are doing is meaningful, it not only makes them feel good, it validates that the effort they are putting into something has worth and significance. When you are growing individuals and people on your team, appreciation goes a long way.

If you build a habit of appreciation and gratitude into all you do, you’ll see significant returns on people’s motivation, idea generation, enthusiasm and inspiration.

Here are examples and ideas of how individuals or organizations have incorporated more appreciation and praise into their interactions and management style.

Appreciation Builds Team Spirit

One of my clients runs a successful business where he has both part-time and full-time employees. He was a little weary of talking about appreciating employees. He said, “Am I supposed to reward them for doing their job? Do I give them all gift cards because they’re showing up and working?” We had a robust conversation with his management team, and he and they came to the realization that it’s not about people just doing their job. Rather, it’s about seeing the moments within the job where they stand out in some way, where you want to say, “I think what you’re doing is terrific. This specific thing that you’re doing is making a difference. You’re making a valuable contribution to the company.”

 That team now has meetings every other month where the employees actually facilitate their own learning and development programs. One month they covered the topic of appreciation, addressing how they appreciate each other and how they could do so to an even greater level. They had people go around and say generous and kind things about each other that were heartfelt. A couple months later, the management handed out gift cards which were specifically related to people's interests. These meetings and this focus on encouragement and appreciation changed people’s motivation. It was clear that employees were much more engaged, and that they were relating to each other with a greater sense of unity. It even changed the customer experience, and because they are in a customer-driven business, the business improved.

Tailoring Appreciation

Another client of mine was telling me how hard her team had been working. They had just gone through a merger, and her team had been going above and beyond, working overtime, long hours. I asked her, “Have you done anything to highlight the fact that you appreciate their efforts and extra time?” She said, “You know, I need to do that.” She has a relatively small team, and we talked about every person on her team, and their hobbies or things they love to do. Then she went out and got gifts to match their hobbies and interests. This one loves jazz. This one loves wine. There's another one who loves to go to church and is religious, so she got her Bible-related books. Each gift was tailored for every person’s hobby. That brings a higher level of joy because the gift is so meaningful when it’s thoughtful.

On the flip side of not being specific enough, I had another client, that shared when we started working together that she had literally never given a gift to her employees. Saying thank you for her was a rarity. We were talking about how that year their firm had worked on the largest deal that they had won in years—worth millions of dollars—that set the company up for the next five years. I said, “Christmas is coming around, are you going to give your team any gifts?” She said, “I hadn’t thought about it.” We spoke about this year being the year to provide gifts since everyone had worked so hard, and she agreed.

 She got everybody a gift, and she left the gifts in their offices. What I didn’t realize in our conversation was that we needed to get a bit more specific about both what to get, and how to give the gift. One of her direct reports said to me, “I came to my desk and I saw a bottle of whisky that I love and it’s not a cheap bottle. I thought, I wonder who gave this to me? I had to deduce that it might be my boss, so I went to her and asked, “Did you give me this bottle?” “Since it wasn’t typical for the leader to give gifts of appreciation to her employees, she hadn’t realized that she should leave a note or card. It’s always ideal to include a note with any gifts you give. It helps people receive the gift in the spirit in which it was given. Along with tailoring gifts to a person’s interest, the accompanying appreciation put into words should also be tailored to the person’s style and values. You want people to see that you’ve made an effort and put thought into both the tangible things you give them and the words you say to them.

Receiving Praise—Keep the Cycle Going

If you have a hard time receiving praise, you may also have a hard time giving it. And if you want to encourage a work environment where people regularly appreciate and compliment each other, you need to play a part in creating that environment by both giving and receiving appreciation.

It’s a circle, a cycle, and if I don’t accept praise, I am likely preventing someone else from getting it, along with preventing myself from getting more. If I remove that blockage by accepting praise, then I open up that circle and allow appreciation to flow. Somebody gives it to me, I give it to somebody else, and they give it to somebody else.

Appreciation appreciates in more ways than you can imagine. Who can you say a specific thank you to today? You will change their work and their lives as well as yours.