Being Thankful for Workplace Colleagues

Cathie Leimbach • November 22, 2022

Employees everywhere want to be valued, respected, and appreciated. They want to be thanked for the contributions they are making at their workplace and be supported to become even more effective at their job! 69% of employees say that the recognition they receive impacts how likely they are to stay with the company. 

Being thankful at work really matters! Human beings are emotional beings. We are more content and motivated to achieve when we feel appreciated for who we are and what we offer. When an employee’s manager treats them well, employees feel supported by the organization. This encourages them to engage more fully, enhancing the organization’s success.

Too often, supervisors believe that an employee’s paycheck is reward enough.  They don’t express thanks at work unless an employee is meeting or exceeding expectations in all aspects of their job.

However, when employees don’t get feedback, they don’t know if they are meeting expectations. If they don’t know what they are doing well, they may not continue to do their best in these areas. When they don’t realize they are underperforming, they don’t realize they need to improve.  Not knowing where they stand leads to insecurity and declining motivation. 

Many managers say they don’t know how to show appreciation at work. Let’s consider 3 simple ways.

  1. Use words to thank your employees. 
  • During a one-on-one conversation or a small group meeting, thank them for a specific task that they are doing well and explain how this work matters to other people - customers, the organization, the department, or a colleague. Thank them for their reliability, their thoughtfulness when others need help, or their high-quality work.
  • Share your thanks by email or in a text or phone call.
  • Write a thank you card or jot a note on a post-it and leave it on their desk.

 

   2.  Use an appropriate form of physical touch.

  • Congratulate a job well done or a group accomplishment with a high five, fist bump, or pat on the back.
  • Help them when they have a task that will be easier with two heads or two sets of hands.
  • Hold the door or help carry boxes when they are loading their vehicle for a trade show.

 

   3.  When they have an urgent deadline and you can spare 20 minutes, ask how you can help.

  • If you are a spreadsheet whiz your 20 minutes could save them 2 hours.
  • If you’re a grammar nerd, you might quickly improve the readability of an important document.

 

Who in your department receives little recognition for the value they add in the workplace? How could you make them feel appreciated during this Thanksgiving season and beyond?

4 Leadership Behaviors That Drive Trust, Performance, and Accountability

By Cathie Leimbach • March 31, 2026
Most leaders don’t struggle because they lack knowledge. They struggle because leadership opportunities show up in daily conversations —and those moments are easy to miss. The difference between average and high-performing teams often comes down to four leadership behaviors: 1. Build Trust Through Everyday Conversations Trust is built in small moments. Listen to concerns Ask thoughtful questions Follow through Address issues quickly and respectfully 🤝 Trust grows through consistent, everyday conversations. 2. Reinforce What Good Looks Like People repeat what gets recognized. Be specific: “I appreciated how you handled that client issue quickly—that made a difference.” 🔒 Clarity + recognition = stronger performance. 3. Address Problems Early—Kindly and Clearly Avoiding issues creates bigger ones. Keep it simple: What was expected? What happened? What needs to change? 👥 Clear, timely conversations reduce drama and improve results. 4. Support People So They Can Succeed Your role is to help your team succeed. Clarify priorities Remove obstacles Provide resources Coach progress 🔍 When people have clarity and support, performance follows. The Real Lever: Conversations None of this requires new systems. It happens in everyday interactions— 1:1s, quick check-ins, and follow-ups. Better conversations → better results. Quick Reflection Which one would make the biggest difference for you right now? Build trust Reinforce performance Address problems early Support success 👉 Join our next 60-minute Leadership Conversation – Inspiring Employee Performance on Monday, April 6, at 3:00 pm ET. Not a webinar. A working session with other leaders looking at what’s actually happening on their teams—and how small shifts in daily conversations change performance fast. If you're curious what even a 10% shift in consistency could look like for your team… this is a good place to start.

Three Small Shifts That Change Everything

By Cathie Leimbach • March 24, 2026
You don’t need to make big changes in your leadership practices to get better results. Often, it’s small shifts in everyday leadership conversations that quietly change how work gets done. Here are three that work:  1. Make priorities clear Start meetings by stating current priorities. That creates focus right away and helps conversations stay on topic. 2. Ask instead of solve Instead of answering an employee’s questions, ask, “What are your suggestions?” Such questions encourage employee thinking and stronger follow-through. 3. Hold short monthly one-on-one check-ins Meeting with each employee one-on-one allows the regular review of goals, progress, and obstacles. These short conversations surface issues early and keep everyone aligned. These small habits keep teams steady and focused. Your challenge this month: Pick one shift and try it. Notice what changes in clarity, buy-in, or accountability. Sometimes the difference between teams that struggle and teams that move smoothly comes down to a few simple leadership conversations happening consistently. 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation on March 30th at 3:00 PM to see how small shifts in everyday leadership conversations can quickly improve clarity, ownership, and results.