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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a scene from Mad Men<\/em> that has stayed with me for years. Peggy Olson finally reaches her limit and confronts her boss, Don Draper. She tells him she works incredibly hard, that she sacrifices a lot for the team, that she keeps delivering \u2014 including the idea behind a successful campaign \u2014 and yet she never feels appreciated. \u201cYou never say thank you,\u201d she says. Don doesn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cThat\u2019s what the money is for.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s one of the coldest lines in television history. It\u2019s also uncomfortable, because depending on how you look at it, he isn\u2019t entirely wrong.<\/p>\n Work is transactional. We invest our time and expertise, and we get compensated for it. Because that exchange feels so ordinary, many leaders, especially in high-performance corporate environments, start to believe compensation alone should communicate appreciation. What says \u201cthank you\u201d louder than a bonus or a promotion?<\/p>\n For a while, that logic holds. I coach a lot of executives who came up through cultures where toughness was rewarded and emotional reinforcement was treated as unnecessary, even as a sign of weakness. Survival itself was the acknowledgment. Nobody praised you for doing your job \u2014 you were expected to perform, period. And to be fair, many high performers are wired that way. They\u2019re internally motivated and don\u2019t need constant validation to keep going. Many are even uncomfortable receiving praise.<\/p>\n But something subtle happens to executives who operate mainly in that framework. Because they don\u2019t need appreciation themselves, they stop consciously giving it to others. It\u2019s not malicious. The habit just unintentionally disappears from their operating system. And that\u2019s usually where leadership starts to break down, because while compensation completes the transaction<\/em>, appreciation is what creates the connection<\/em>. People don\u2019t stay loyal to transactions forever. They stay loyal to feeling seen.<\/p>\n O.C. Tanner Institute\u2019s 2026 State of Employee Recognition report<\/a> found that employees whose recognition is intentionally woven into their daily work are 26 times more likely to plan on staying at their company for another year. Twenty-six times. I have never seen a raise deliver that kind of return.<\/p>\n Years ago, I coached the CEO of a multibillion-dollar company. One of his senior leaders privately confided a frustration that had been building for years: \u201cHe never expresses appreciation. Ever.\u201d When I raised it with the CEO, his answer reminded me instantly of that Mad Men<\/em> scene. \u201cWhy should I? I already pay them so much.\u201d I asked him a simple question: \u201cWhat does it cost you to say thank you?\u201d He paused, then said the truth out loud: \u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned from that conversation and hundreds like it since: Appreciation is not a personality trait; it\u2019s a discipline. And it can be built the same way any other leadership habit gets built.<\/p>\n Every Friday morning, block 30 minutes for what I call \u201cThankful 30\u201d and think about who on your team deserves acknowledgment that week. Not just the person who closed the biggest deal or gave the best presentation. Anyone, whether that\u2019s the employee who quietly solved a problem before it escalated, the assistant who protected your schedule during a chaotic stretch or the person who challenged your thinking when everyone else stayed quiet. Keep quick, informal notes throughout the week \u2014 names, moments, small things worth remembering \u2014 because leadership is often lost in accumulation. By Friday, most executives can barely remember Monday. Thankful 30 forces that reflection, and the reflection changes behavior.<\/p>\n What I find fascinating is that this exercise often alters the leader as much as the team. At first, many executives treat Thankful 30 like just another task on the calendar. But eventually something shifts, and they start noticing more effort, courage and contribution \u2014 the things that used to slide by unnoticed. Over time, appreciation stops feeling procedural and starts becoming instinctive. That\u2019s the moment culture actually changes: not when recognition gets mandated from the top, but when it becomes embedded in how leaders naturally see their people.<\/p>\n One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is that people only want recognition for major accomplishments. That\u2019s rarely true. Most people are deeply affected by the smaller moments \u2014 someone noticing they stayed late, someone acknowledging that they spoke up in a difficult meeting, someone recognizing consistency instead of just performative heroics, someone saying, \u201cI know that wasn\u2019t easy.\u201d Those moments matter more than most executives realize, especially today, in a business climate where people are emotionally exhausted, overstimulated and increasingly disconnected from meaning in their work. Employees don\u2019t necessarily expect constant praise, but they do want to feel relevant, to feel that their effort exists in the consciousness of the people they work for.<\/p>\n Achievers Workforce Institute\u2019s 2025 State of Recognition report<\/a> supports this. Just 21% of employees said recognition felt most meaningful when it was specific and tied to a monetary reward, while 45% \u2014 the largest group by far \u2014 said they felt most valued when recognition was specific and personal, with no reward attached at all. People remember praise, not points. When employees feel seen and connected to the mission, they begin giving discretionary effort. Leaders who consistently express meaningful appreciation unlock levels of loyalty and performance that compensation alone can\u2019t buy.<\/p>\nAppreciation is a discipline, not a trait<\/h2>\n
1. Block 30 minutes and make a thankful list<\/h2>\n
2. Notice the small stuff, not just the big wins<\/h2>\n
3. Earn the right to be direct<\/h2>\n