“Someone wrote you a note of appreciation seven years ago, and you still have it. Was it written on some special expensive stationery?” I asked.
“No, just a short note written on a piece of plain paper,” Caitland replied.
“Then, how did you know to keep it?”
“I didn’t know I should keep it, I just did. It wasn’t much, but it was about me, something I had done. It made me feel like I had made a genuine contribution to a project.”
“So, it changed the way you felt, on the inside?” I followed.
“Yes, it changed the way I felt, on the inside, about myself.”
I still have a note from a former boss, written years ago, on a small piece of purple card in gold felt-tip pen. It was written when I left the organisation, and I’ve kept it in my wallet ever since.
This level of personal, heartfelt recognition can have hugely significant, sustained and deep effects on people’s morale, which is needed for businesses to really succeed, and it costs nothing.
Take a look at http://www.trainingreality.co.uk/blog/Stress-and-bad-management.php for comments on a recent report on stress caused by lack of positive feedback.
Lovely, simple article – thanks Tom.
I still have a card that my staff got for me one year. It was a boss’s day card signed by the whole staff with notes. Even though I don’t work there anymore I still have it and look at it from time to time. It gives me confidence when I am not feeling very confident.
Jeff,
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is amazing that we have the power to change the way other people feel on the inside. Keep in touch.
I still have a copy of an e-mail that I received about five years from an employee. It was a thank you for a very small routine task, but because the sender expressed how it made an impact for her I truly appreciated the thank you. Thank yous aren’t just proper etiquette; they can make a difference to an individual for many years to come.