When was the last time you genuinely thanked someone on your team? I mean sincere appreciation, not, “Can you pass the stapler? Thanks.” So many of our co-workers do an outstanding job, day in and day out, that it becomes a matter of routine, something that is taken for granted.
Of course you have excellent people on your team, or they wouldn’t be on your team for long, right? But doesn’t it feel good when someone recognizes the effort you put in daily, when someone sees how much you really contribute? That genuine human connection of truly acknowledging what people really do is so powerful, that it seems like a shame to wait for someone else to hand down thanks from above. (That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t! By all means, thanks all around!)
Find someone on your team who is a solid anchor, someone who really keeps the team moving forward. It’s probably someone who doesn’t seek the spotlight and doesn’t regularly get accolades. Let them know how much they really are appreciated, and tell them so in simple, honest, human terms.
At the very least you’ll make someone’s day. And who knows, you might even start a chain reaction.