Leadership Test: When Did You Last Say ‘Thank You’?

If You Have to Think About It, You’ve Got Work to Do.

Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.
SIMON SINEK

March is Employee Spirit Month and next Friday, March 7 is Employee Appreciation Day.

It's sad, but Gallup found that only one in three employees strongly agree that in the last week they have received recognition or praise for doing good work.  You’d think appreciation would be second nature for leaders. After all, great work deserves recognition, right?  Yet, too many leaders either forget, assume employees “just know” they’re valued, or worse, believe that a paycheck is appreciation enough.  

Spoiler alert: It’s not.

The Hidden Cost of Neglecting Recognition
 Research by Great Place to Work found that the number one driver of great work isn’t money, promotions, or training—it’s recognition.  In fact, 37% of employees said being recognized is what motivates them most.

And here’s where it gets even more interesting: the top three drivers of great work—recognition, self-motivation, and inspiration—are deeply connected.  One of the primary tools of purpose-driven leadership is leveraging team and/or organizational mission, a project's purpose and/or vision, and/or an employee's personal meaning and purpose through—you guessed it--recognition.  It's how you tap into inspiration and someone's self-motivation with recognition.  Employees who see how their work contributes to something bigger are more engaged, self-driven, and innovative.

Recreated with data from Great Place to Work & O.C. Tanner. Click image for source.

Leaders who fail to recognize their people don’t just risk losing talent—they risk losing the passion and purpose that fuel high performance.

Excuses, Excuses—Let's Debunk Them
If you’re a leader who struggles with regular recognition, you might have told yourself one of these:

🛑 “I don’t have time.”
✔  You don’t have time NOT to.  A simple ‘thank you’ takes seconds.  A disengaged team takes months to fix.

🛑 “They already know I appreciate them.”
✔  Do they?  A study by Gallup found that employees who feel undervalued are twice as likely to leave.

🛑 “I’ll do it during their performance review.”
✔  Delayed gratitude isn’t gratitude.  It’s a missed opportunity to reinforce great work in the moment.

Quick Wins:  Recognizing with Purpose
Recognition is most powerful when it connects to something meaningful. Here’s how leaders can level up their appreciation game:

• Tie recognition to purpose. Instead of “Great job,” say, “Thank you! Your work on [project] directly supported our mission by [specific impact].” or "Thank you! When you [name the behavior or outcome] it supports our mission by [specific impact]."
• Tie recognition to a value.  Call out connections between behaviors and personal, team, or organizational values.  Say, "When you [name the behavior or outcome] it supports our value of [name the specific value] by [specific impact]."
• Acknowledge self-motivation. Celebrate the effort behind the achievement, not just the result. “I see how much heart you put into this—it makes a difference.”
• Link appreciation to inspiration. Highlight how an employee’s work contributes to the bigger picture. “Your creativity in [task] is pushing us forward in [goal].”

Make Recognition a Leadership Habit
Appreciation isn’t a once-a-year event.  It’s a fundamental leadership behavior and competency. The best leaders integrate recognition into their daily routine—not as a box to check, but as a way to reinforce purpose, motivation, and trust.

So, I’ll ask again: When did you last say ‘thank you’?  If the answer isn’t today, there’s no better time to start.  Don’t just celebrate Employee Appreciation Day—use it as a springboard to build a culture of ongoing recognition.

To help you get started, here are two free resources:
📥 The Benefits of Gratitude
📥 A Leader’s Appreciation & Gratitude in a Crunch

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Have an amazing journey today!

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Alan Mikolaj is a seasoned coach and leadership development consultant with nearly 20 years of experience.  He is passionate about helping leaders transform their leadership, their teams, and their organizations.  He has an impactful, professional approach driven by a passion for meaning and purpose, a growth mindset, and a commitment to excellence and service in order to drive change and results.

Alan holds his Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology and Associate Certified Coach credential with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and maintains their ethics and standards of behavior, including the standards regarding confidentiality.  You can learn more about them on the ICF website.

Transformational change starts with a conversation!
Schedule your free, one-hour session by clicking here: Discovery Conversation with Alan
Or call or email: Contact Page

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