The Four Ways to Say Thank You—and the One That Doubles Your Impact
As a physician leader, you already know that gratitude is critical to your team's culture, camaraderie, and performance. But did you know there are four different ways to say thank you, and if you choose the right one, your thank you can have double the impact on your team's engagement and productivity?
In this post, I’ll walk you through all four thank you methods—and reveal the one that is a true leadership superpower. Ready? Let’s get started.
Leadership is a lot like baseball
Whether you’re in Little League or the World Series, the game only has four basic skills:
- Throw the ball
- Catch the ball
- Hit the ball
- Run
Leadership, too, has just a handfull of fundamental skills.
GRATITUDE is one of them
Gratitude is a core physician leadership skills, whether you are leading your clinical team or in an administrative leadership role.
As a leader, gratitude most often takes the form of congratulations—a simple thank you.
The way you deliver that thank you makes all the difference.
Let's look at the four main ways to say Thank You
GRATITUDE AXIS #1:
Skill vs. Effort
For years in my live leadership trainings, I’ve asked physician leaders:
What’s more effective?
- Thanking someone for their skill ("Hey, thanks, you’re really good at that.")
- Thanking someone for their effort ("Hey, thanks for your hard work, we really appreciate it.")
Which do you think has the bigger impact?
It turns out that thanking someone for effort is more powerful than thanking them for skill.
Why?
- When you thank someone for skill, you’re just acknowledging they’re better at this activity than you are.
- When you thank someone for effort, you acknowledge the work they put in—no matter how talented they are.
A better "thank you" sounds like this:
"Thanks for your hard work on the project yesterday, Cheryl. We really appreciate it."
Gratitude Axis #2:
Recognition vs. Appreciation
[The Real Game-Changer]
I recently watched a TED Talk by Mike Robbins* called The Power of Appreciation. In it, he explains a critical distinction between these two forms of gratitude:
Recognition (Transactional Gratitude)
- Focuses on what someone has done
- Conditional—based on achievements, milestones, or outcomes
- Structured—often comes with awards, bonuses, or public recognition
- Feels transactional
Example:
"Sally, thanks for your great work helping us get Project X across the finish line."
Appreciation (Transformational Gratitude)
- Focuses on who someone is
- Unconditional—not tied to specific results
- Frequent and personal—can be informal and spontaneous
- Builds deeper relationships
Example:
"Sally, I just want to say—I really appreciate the positive energy you always bring to the team.
It’s awesome. Keep it up."
Which One Works Better?
Mike Robbins cites research from the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley, which studied the effects of recognition and appreciation on team productivity and effectiveness.
Here’s what they found:
- Recognition increased productivity by 23%
- Appreciation increased productivity by 43%
Appreciation is nearly twice as powerful as recognition.
How You Can Shift from Recognition to Appreciation
If I followed you around at work and listened to you talk with your teams, I’d hope to hear a lot of gratitude—because any thank you is better than silence.
But if we carefully observed and categorized your thank yous,
what would your Appreciation / Recognition Ratio be?A/R = ??
This research shows a higher ratio is better, right?
And I will bet that this ratio is something you've never considered before.
Literally you can double your leadership intact on your teams by simply choosing appreciation more than simple recognition
To help you shift towards appreciation, here are 10 examples of appreciation statements. Just breathe, listen, and imagine how it would feel if someone said these to you at work:
- "I really appreciate the way you always bring such positive energy to the team. It’s awesome. Keep it up."
- "Your dedication and hard work do not go unnoticed. I’m so grateful to have you on this team."
- "I value your unique perspective, even when it challenges the status quo. It makes us better."
- "Your kindness and support always make a huge difference in the way we work together."
- "I appreciate how you take the time to help others. You make this a better place to work."
- "The way you handled that situation with patience and professionalism was inspiring."
- "I admire your ability to stay calm and focused, even in stressful moments."
- "Thank you for always being so reliable. I know I can count on you."
- "You bring a level of creativity that makes our work better every day."
- "I appreciate your willingness to go the extra mile—not because you have to, but because you care."
Are you getting the drift? Appreciation is about the person, not just the work they do. And notice how saying thank you like this feels even better - on your end - than a simple thank you for a task completed.
Your Leadership Assignment
Your leadership challenge is to 10x your thank-yous to your people.
- Get out of the office and engage with your team.
- Recognize accomplishments.
- But most importantly, appreciate people for who they are.
Gratitude is a superpower—use it early and often.
When you say thank you to your team members, tilt in favor of APPRECIATION
Final Thoughts
Throw the ball. Catch the ball. Hit the ball. Run.
Leadership has just a few essential skills, and gratitude is one of them.
If you want to double your leadership impact, make appreciation your default setting.
Thank you for your time and attention—I know it’s your most precious resource.
Until next time, keep breathing and have a great rest of your day.
*Mike Robbins TEDx talk is HERE
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT
- How do your people react when you say thank you - and how does it feel to do it well?
- What's one thing from the last week you can think one member of your team for?
- When will you do that?