When was the last time you said “thank you” and really meant it?

By “really mean it,” I mean that it completely acknowledged and appreciated the work that someone had done for you?

This is where we left off:

Next time we will talk about this part of Thankfulness within Mahalo; “Say “mahalo” or “thank you” often. Speak of your appreciation of others, and it will soften the tone of your voice, giving it both humility, and fullness. People need to hear words spoken from your aloha, and in speaking them you offer a generous gift.”

The Mahalo Motivator

I recently participated in a group discussion held at a conference by Gallup University, in which we were asked to compare our notes on different recognition programs. The exercise was part of answering a broader question on what kinds of things motivate people, so that they flick on that magic switch to self-motivation.

You have probably done something similar, for generally, employee-of-the-month type programs are dying a too-slow death, with most organizations finding they have little lasting effect on staff morale. In too many cases, the fairness trap of the selection process will hurt these programs, and they lose their credibility and worth.

What repeatedly came up in our group – and in every other group at the conference, as Gallup expected in making their point – was that the recognition people want most of all is having the person that matters just say “thank you” to them and mean it.

How Mahalo Matters

At work, that “person that matters” is usually the boss – the manager. However it can be others as well; the person that matters can be someone within your work team today, and another you know you have somehow affected in another department tomorrow.

MY MANA‘O (what I believe to be true) ~ ~ ~ We first want our work to be worthwhile – so our own spirit will say thank you. We then want our work to matter for others – and we know it when they say thank you.

People feel we mean it when they feel they have earned it. They did something good; something worth your noticing; something valuable to you. You didn’t say “mahalo” or “thank you” just to say it, or because they had a turn come up - they caused it to happen.

This is what that “generous gift” you can offer is all about; it is an acknowledgment that is not very complicated at all.

Give a gift: Who should you be saying thank you to today?