How Often Do You Thank Your Staff?

Last night, I was fortunate enough to be invited for the closing ceremony of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. I was seated with my colleagues on the management committee of weightlifting, amongst the 27,000-strong audience. The ubiquitous presence of the purple-shirted volunteers was significant and unavoidable. This helpful large team went through its paces as rehearsed as any major international event should.

Before we departed, I noticed a trend in my motley crew of leaders – they thanked the volunteers. Could it be because we served as volunteers a week earlier and we could relate to those on duty? Or, was it our personal values? We certainly connected at a values level, and also the act of appreciation made us feel good – for both volunteers and ourselves. It was not easy to manage non-compliant audience members who may have been there for different reasons. They were ‘live’ but not alive in the spirited sense; yet, the volunteers stirred us out of potential stupor by guiding us or goading us on, in song or dance or cheer. It takes courage to express yourself in public without making a fool of yourself.

Why thank a person? Do you do it because you have to, or it is the right thing to do? How do you feel when you profess that gesture? How genuine and sincere were you in that act or seemingly mild nature? Are they just words, mouthed as impeccably as a trained service staff at a retail store? How do we turn lip service into livid service?

How do we show our recognition of someone’s competence, results, and behaviors of worth? We were taught early in life to say these magic words: thank you, please, and hello. Are these simple words worth reciting in our daily lives? Would a leader gain more influence if he/she openly pronounced them to the staff? Can you thank a cleaner at a food-court for clearing the mess on your table before you dined?

What I recalled mere hours ago was that the volunteers seemed surprised by our thanking them. All smiled their heartfelt appreciation. The behavior could have passed unnoticed, however it was not. If you were not involved in the entire process of assisting in the mega-sporting event, would you feel inclined to thank a youth or mature volunteer for their generous gesture to help? Would you post a note on Twitter or Facebook just to express your sense of recognition?

Thank somebody today!