Thanksgiving begins the “Holiday Season,” and this gives you, the leader, the opportunity to express your thanks to the team you lead, your customers/clients and other stakeholders. For purposes of this blog, I will focus on giving thanks to the people you lead.
You may be thinking it is cliche-ish to thank the people you lead during the holiday season because everyone does this. Perhaps, but remember, it is expected of you and to do anything otherwise would lessen how you are viewed as a leader.
(Remember, the purpose of this blog is to give you tips and suggestions for strengthening your leadership and how you are perceived as a leader.)
As a leader, you need people to follow you – to do the jobs and assume the roles that you can’t. (If you did everything yourself, you would be a solopreneur and not an organizational leader.) In short, your effectiveness as a leader is only as good as your team members are in doing their jobs while following your lead. This is the best reason to give them thanks – their work is supporting your efforts.
So how might you show your appreciation? Here are a couple of simple ways which will strengthen your leadership:
1) Company-wide email (if you are the CEO) or group email if you are leading a department – You should send an email expressing your appreciation for everyone in the organization, and you may wish to cite specific accomplishments over the past year. You should also include a personal observation about the importance of this time of year and be sure to wish everyone a safe and wonderful holiday season.
2) Handwritten notes – There may be nothing more special to an employee than receiving a handwritten, “Thank You” note from the leader. A handwritten note should be a personal note written to individuals thanking them for their work and noting something specific. (Don’t have time to do this? Well, I know one leader who handwrites 600+ notes each year – one for each employee. Now that’s appreciation!)
Extra Tip – There is controversy over whether or not you should say “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas”. Well, if you are the leader of a Christian-based company, then say, “Merry Christmas”. If you are the leader of an organization which is not Christian-based and has non-Christians working for you, use “Happy Holidays.” Why do I suggest this? Because when giving thanks to your team, you, as the leader, assume the role of “unifier” for the purpose of bringing your team together. Avoid any risk of controversy…now is not the time.