Thank You written in different languages on speech bubbles.
It may sound surprising, but many people who work hard to protect their personal relationships fail to apply the same basic consideration to colleagues. This can be particularly true in today’s work-from-home reality; it’s easy to forget your manners when you’re juggling family and deadlines, and sitting at your desk in your pajama bottoms.
Don’t be that person. Manners matter when it comes to corporate success, especially in today’s technologically advanced, innovative companies. In our always-on, hyper-connected, truly global work environment, subtleties can get lost in translation—literally. We need to take extra care to ensure that our tone and intention is understood.
This may sound like advice from your grandmother. (Listen to your grandmother!) But misunderstandings due to careless communication can absolutely derail careers.
Manners also matter because so many jobs today require real collaboration. Yes, technical prowess is important, but consideration trumps technical savvy when it comes to working well with others.
One essential way to mind your manners: remembering to express appreciation for a job well done. It’s easy to focus on what went wrong, and forget to thank those doing well. But over-focusing on the finish line to the point of ignoring good work erodes relationships and can damage your position within the organization.
Here are three easy ways to remember to give thanks:
Notice Good Work
Sure, you and those around you are getting paid to work, but we all want to be acknowledged for our efforts; no one wants to feel like a wage slave. Expressing thanks helps people feel valued and respected. It also increases the sense of fun and camaraderie. Even if a person “merely” executed a required task well, that success deserves acknowledgement.
Remembering to thank employees and colleagues helps you further the corporate end; when people feel valued, they’re more likely to be engaged, which translates into higher profitability. Feeling valued also increases employees’ desire to stay with the company, a big bonus for you as a leader. Giving thanks is a way to model manners and exert the kind of leadership that helps everyone rise.
Make It a Habit
Set a reminder on your calendar every week for giving thanks. Use this time to think about who helped you or did a great job that week. Then send a thank you note or text. This 15-minute task may be one of the most high-impact activities of your work week.
For people who’ve really made an extra effort, do something more than sending an e-thanks. Write a handwritten note, or better yet, mail a fun token of appreciation from your region or country. Some people keep a drawer of silly, inexpensive items (paid for personally), collected from their travels or picked up around town to drop in the mail. (Elephant candle from Cambodia, anyone? Sushi erasers from Japan?) This little effort can insert a shot of joy into your day, and it absolutely conveys the message that you are grateful for this person’s work. The object itself also helps keep your region or division in the other person’s mind.
Create a Culture of Consideration
By making a habit of thanking others, you help create a culture of consideration, which improves morale and benefits you as a leader; a happy, motivated team does better work. Thanking people creates an upward cycle. If you volunteer thanks or quickly jump in to help someone else, others feel responsibility to do the same.
Accommodating other people’s needs before they ask is another surprisingly effective way to create a culture of consideration, and generate loyalty and trust, as a Singapore-based executive at a large US tech firm recently noted. “My new manager offered to move an 11 pm call earlier for me, even though I’m the only person in APAC and other people will have to wake up early,” she said. “I love this new manager and I’m never leaving her.”
Being thoughtful about others and always thanking them may sound like old-timey values, similar to the admonishment to, “Drink more milk!” But like drinking milk, giving thanks has proven value. It won’t fortify your bones, but it absolutely will strengthen your career.
