It’s Thanksgiving in the United States this week, so I have gratitude on my mind. While I’ve struggled for years to keep the commitment of daily gratitude journaling, I do try my hardest to make it a practice to keep in focus all I have to be thankful for. I also try my hardest to express my gratitude to others, for the big things but also in small, everyday ways.

We know these “little things,” like saying thank you, aren’t actually little at all; they have a tremendous impact. From a leadership perspective, making time for “little things,” especially when you lead large teams is indeed a challenge. But it’s a challenge I believe more leaders should be taking on.

There’s been increasing recognition of the correlation between employee engagement, performance, and customer satisfaction. And acceptance of changes within the talent landscape that require companies – and leaders – to do things differently if they aim to attract and retain good talent. But in all of this, like in many areas of life, there can be a tendency to overlook, undervalue, or deprioritize the little things that often make the biggest difference.

For leaders, one of the most valuable tools you have in your toolbox is to make sure your employees feel appreciated and valued. When is the last time you said thank you to someone on your team, or reminded them of the impact their hard work has on you, on the company, on your customers? When you stop to think about it, it’s amazing to consider what an investment of just 30 seconds within a conversation can do.

Why Gratitude Matters

Wanting to feel we matter is human nature, but it’s a need that the corporate world thinks little of in days, weeks, and years driven by efficiency, goals, milestones, and wins. Leaders hold the capacity to connect that human need to the business objectives at hand, by simply thanking employees for what it is they do to contribute and letting them know you see the hard work they do, and it matters.

At Field Service Europe, I attended an interesting panel on work-life balance and during the discussion, every leader on the panel spoke about the importance of investing time for 1-1 interactions with your team, ideally face-to-face. They emphasized the importance of getting to know your employees personally. Is this time consuming? It can be, but they all were firm that it is not only a worthwhile but a critical investment.

I’ve heard leaders speak for years, across industries, about how amazing it is to see what relatively small actions can do when it comes to showing employees appreciation and recognition. If it’s something you know you aren’t doing enough of today, what would happen if you made a concerted effort to change that?

As someone who has been on the receiving end of platitudinal gratitude, let me clarify that this needs to be authentic. Making it a point to say robotically “thanks for all you do” to each of your team members over the coming month isn’t going to cut it; they will see right through you. You have to actually mean it, and if that feels challenging then I think you have yourself a bigger problem (a team you aren’t leading well or an ego so big you can’t see other people’s contributions clearly).

Some of you likely are already making a genuine effort to ensure your employees feel appreciated, and that’s wonderful! If you’re up for a challenge as well, what I’d suggest to make even more impact is to consider that different forms of communication may resonate better with different people. Some may connect most through a 1-1 conversation, others would be delighted at receiving a handwritten note. Some may feel most proud with some form of public acknowledgement, others would prefer a private exchange. The more you understand your team, the better you can tailor your gratitude to maximize its impact. But simply saying thank you is a great way to start.