The three levels of appreciation

There are two kinds of people in this world:

Those who feel recognized at work — and those who don’t.

Which group do you think is larger? Let’s look at the data.

A Gallup survey showed that only 30% of employees had “received recognition or praise for doing good work” over the past week. (In a OnePoll survey, 59 percent said they’ve neverhad a boss who truly appreciates their work.)

And in a study by O.C. Tanner, 37% of respondents said that more personal recognition would encourage them to produce better work more often.

The disproportionate power of recognition is clear.

That’s because the modern world has gotten so noisy, we can’t help but feel like our efforts go unnoticed.

Hence the trends of “quiet quitting” or “shirking from home.” People are starving for recognition, to feel seen and validated.

And yet, most leaders don’t use genuine appreciation to motivate employees to do their best work.

That’s what I focus on in the “Expanding Your Communication Range” module of The High EQ Founder program.

One founder wanted to roleplay a conversation with an employee who was asking for a raise.

He started like this: “You’ve been with us the longest of all of our employees, and we appreciate and value your work.”

“How did that feel?” I asked the group.

“Didn’t really feel appreciated,” they said.

That’s because this is “Level 1 Appreciation” — generic and impersonal.

So I had the founder try again, this time with more specificity. Here’s what he said:

“I just want to tell you, first off, like, how much we appreciate you. We hired you two years ago and you’re taking the lead on Project X and brought a lot of insight and experience in our decision with the operator we have to choose… handling the the contractors, dealing with a new software system, as well as putting all the presentation and investor decks together for us. As we move forward, you’re an instrumental part of our team.”

Do you feel the difference?

The other participants did: “I felt really good when he said ‘you’re an instrumental part of our team.’”

This is “Level 2 Appreciation” — powerful because it’s objective, facts-based and specific.

But if you really want to amp it up, there’s “Level 3 Appreciation.”

This is where you go further down the value chain and articulate to someone the long-term impact of what they do — how they’re enabling others and contributing to the success of the company.

In this case, the founder could tell the employee that his expertise had helped him make more informed decisions and gave him confidence in presenting their plan to investors.

As founders, you have to move fast. But no matter how much you have on your plate, your job is always to maximize the impact of others.

And when leading a team, it’s foolish to ignore the power of recognition.

Learn how to communicate meaningful appreciation for what they do. The return will be huge.

I’m an executive coach and creator of The High-EQ Founder, a 6–week leadership intensive for impact-focused founders. I help founders access their full potential as leaders so they can create extraordinary teams and build the company of their dreams. Contact me at hello at renitakalhorn.com.