The Gift That Keeps on Giving: Say Thanks

It’s that time of year when we are all called on to remember our blessings and be thankful.

For some of us this is easy to do as our house fills with family and friends and there is a large, golden brown turkey in the oven.

Then there are the Christmas and holiday cards that start to flood our mailboxes with pictures of darling babies, sunny vacations and smiling faces. It’s not too hard to be moved to a place of profound gratitude for those who love us.

But how many of us take this sense of gratitude to work?

While “the most wonderful time of the year” is a sentiment that is easily achievable at home, at work it can be harder to get there, especially when your typical day can look something like this: People are starting to take the time off they’ve banked all year just in time for the fourth quarter push to make numbers for the year.

There are a series of parties and lunches and dinners that eat into the time you have at your desk to get the work done, but that never really materializes because you have to leave early to get to the kids’ Thanksgiving party/holiday PTO fundraiser/school choir recital.

Before you leave, you do have to find the time to follow up with your boss about that critical path issue that threatens to derail the project you have spent all year working on. If only you could find her because she’s not at her desk. Sound familiar?

So is it possible to slow down and genuinely give thanks at work this time of year? Sure it is, but it requires intentional thought and action.

Here are a few easy things to do that will communicate to your team, coworkers and leadership that you are indeed thankful for them, their contribution and hard work.

Say Thank You

You probably just thought — yeah, well no kidding. You’d be right, this is stating the obvious, but just saying thank you won’t be enough. Saying thank you as you fly by someone’s desk on the way to your next meeting means nothing — in fact it might be worse than saying nothing at all.

Add commentary to your words of thanks. Did someone achieve a stretch goal that resulted in increased efficiencies in the office? Does someone regularly and quietly do things that usually go unnoticed? Did someone have a bad year and it was all they could do to get there at times?

Sometimes a thoughtfully delivered word of thanks will do more than make someone’s day. It can give them hope. It can give them purpose and it can almost certainly make you a new friend.

Acknowledge Challenges

Have you ever had a time at work when everyone is trying to pretend the elephant in the room is not really there? It’s awkward and at times just downright silly. It can also be demoralizing.

Recognizing challenges and thanking people for the work they are doing to address the opportunity the company is facing is a way to inspire loyalty. It can also give the team a sense of reassurance that you believe in their ability to solve the issue at hand and with this could come a sense of renewed pride in their work. 

Honest and authentic communication can deliver more goodwill than a well-intentioned gift. And it’s more affordable.

Connect

The tyranny of life is a daily threat to thoughtful communication. It is easy to slip into a pattern of one-way communication at work, when really what you’re going for is open, two-way lines of communication.

Sam Walton famously said that some of the best ideas he ever received were from his associates. As a result, he regularly encouraged all of his managers to “manage by walking around.” His premise was simple: if you invest in your people then they will invest in you.

Taking time out of your day to spend a few minutes socializing with people is itself an act of gratitude. It conveys that the people mean something to you and are important. If you don’t already do this regularly, you might be surprised at the cool things you discover in brief, casual, intentional conversations.

More than money and gifts, people want to feel appreciated and heard. As Winston Churchill once said “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Carrie McKnight is the vice president of public relations for Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods. She can be reached at [email protected].