“The ROI on simply saying “thank you” goes a long way – probably much
farther than you think.”
– Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School
In our chaotic, busy lives, many of us overlook the importance of saying thank you and expressing gratitude.
But there are good reasons to say thank you:
- Gratitude is an important leadership quality
- Shows you appreciate and respect the other person
- Generates positive feelings
- Sets you up to receive the best from the other person
- Expressing gratitude (or not) says something about who you are
- A meaningful way to differentiate yourself among others
- Last, but not least, it’s the right thing to do
An executive client recently shared with me that she typically can tell the level of the individual she is working with by whether or not they express gratitude. That when she emails useful information to her senior level clients (in positions of leadership), she typically receives a thank you reply email with a “t.u.” or ☺. She observed that most of her junior clients do not acknowledge emails or say thank you.
Saying thank you takes so little effort: a phone call, a thank you note – and yes, even an email or a text …what kind of impression do you want to leave?
For more information and research read The Power of ‘Thanks’ by Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School