184. Tiny Culture Change: Say Thank You in Detail with Prina Shah
Tiny Culture Change: Say Thank You in Detail “Thanks, team” is nice. But it’s also easy for people to tune out. In this short episode of Ways to Change Your Workplace, Prina Shah shares a tiny culture change leaders can put into practice immediately: make your thank you specific. Instead of offering generic praise, name three things: The behaviour — what did the person actually do? The effort — what did it require from them? The impact — what difference did their actions make? ...
Tiny Culture Change: Say Thank You in Detail
“Thanks, team” is nice. But it’s also easy for people to tune out.
In this short episode of Ways to Change Your Workplace, Prina Shah shares a tiny culture change leaders can put into practice immediately: make your thank you specific.
Instead of offering generic praise, name three things:
- The behaviour — what did the person actually do?
- The effort — what did it require from them?
- The impact — what difference did their actions make?
For example:
“Thank you for staying calm with that difficult client, for protecting the rest of the team’s focus, and for documenting everything so clearly afterwards.”
Why does this matter?
Because specific gratitude does more than make someone feel appreciated. It shows people exactly what good looks like.
When leaders recognise the behaviours, effort and impact they want to see more of, they reinforce those behaviours and make workplace expectations clearer.
And unlike another engagement initiative or survey, this culture change costs nothing and can start today.
Try this today
Think of one person you need to thank.
Don’t stop at “great job” or “thanks for your help”.
Tell them specifically what they did, the effort you noticed, and the impact it had.
That’s your tiny culture change for this week.
Reflection question
When was the last time someone thanked you specifically enough that you knew exactly what they valued about your contribution?
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Prina (Helping you find GREAT ways to change your workplace) Shah
