Be Specific
The second element of effective appreciation is making
sure that it is specific. if i told you to “keep up the good
work,” what exactly does that mean? But what if you
told your spa associate, “i want you to know how much i
appreciate the extra time you put in this week to get the
new product orders set-up so that our customers could be
well-served. your extra efforts helped us deliver on our
promise of providing a positive experience for our
customers.” it’s not about fancy words. it is about being
clear about what you appreciate and what behavior you
want to see them do again in the future.
make it meaningful
The final element of effective appreciation is to make it
meaningful. in their book The 5 Languages of
Appreciation in the Workplace, Paul White and Gary
chapman state that “every person is unique in the way
that they feel or express appreciation and value in work
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relationships.” our role as rarE leaders is to tailor the
appreciation we show to our employees in a way that is
meaningful to them, not easiest for us.
in White and chapman’s book they identify five
“languages” of appreciation:
l WordS of AffIrmAtIon: an individual wants to
hear or see that they are a doing something well. The
affirmation could come in the form of an email, a
handwritten thank-you note or a face-to-face conver-
sation.
l ActS of ServIce: individuals with this language feel
appreciated when something is done for them in
honor of the effort they exerted. it could be as simple
as asking how you can help lighten their load or letting
them off an hour early one day.
l receIvIng gIftS: Some people like to receive things
in order to feel valued. The dollar amount does not
matter as much as the thought behind it. you can use