How Your Boss Could Show Her Appreciation at Work - The Muse

How Your Boss Could Show Her Appreciation at Work - The MuseHow Your Boss Could Show Her Appreciation at Work Your boss A) is perfectly pleasant B) is competentC) is smartD) is appreciative If youre able to check off A through C, youre doing pretty well. You generally like the work youre doing, the hours are decent, positiv youve got fair pay, good benefits, and a mission you respect. The only thing missing (aside from peppermint tea in the kitchen) is letter D above. Your boss isnt very good at showing you that youre valued. Come to think of it, you cant recall a time he commended you for a job well done. No complaints about your work or feedback that suggests you have a ton to improve upon, but no praise either. If only he knew how far a few words of appreciation at work would go. If he could just say one of the following, youd be motivated to kick butt for at least the next year. 1. Youre Doing GreatOn some level, of course, you know youre doing good work. The feedback you receive d last year at your annual review was pretty fantastic, actually. Youre on track for a promotion, and you even got the raise you were angling for. All signs point to you getting high marks and a big thumbs up from your boss (and your boss boss). The only thing absent is the praise. Aside from the standard review, you cant recall a time your manager expressed satisfaction in the job youre doing. When has he ever said, Hey, Darren, really nice work on the deck you turned in yesterday. Im impressed. Um, never? And, look, if it were a choice between verbal praise and a padded paycheck, youd take the latter, but why cant it be both? Why cant your boss look you in the eye and let you know that youre a valued asset and that hes duly pleased with your performance more often than once a year during the than the obligatory employee assessment? 2. Thank YouNo, its not as though you think you deserve to be thanked for doing your job. You are getting paid, after all, and some might argue thats a form of gratitude in and of itself, but when it comes to all of those little and not-so-little things your manager asks you to do? Couldnt she, at least some of the time, just say thank you when you turn something in, when you meet a deadline, when you go above and beyond, or when shes pleased with your efforts? Its hard not to feel like youre taken for granted or that your role exists simply to complete your boss demands when those two precious words are incomprehensibly absent from her speech. Fine if she doesnt want to say it every time you check something off the good ol to-do list, but how refreshing would it be to occasionally have your supervisors asks be sealed with a Thank you.3. Happy to Have You on the TeamWhen you stop to consider how the team ever survived without you, youre not being cocky, youre being realistic. There are others out there who could do your job, sure, but you believe the work youre doing for the department is stellar, and the culture fit couldnt be be tter. So why cant your manager tell you hes happy to have you on his team? Whats so hard about letting you know that youre an asset and that you were a great hire?After all, it reflects well on him that youre working out so well. Day in and day out, you make him look good by how well youre performing. Itd be nice to hear him say what youre pretty sure he already believes.No matter how good you have it, its inevitable not to dream up how things could be even better. If you and your boss have a solid relationship, you should be grateful for it as its not the case for a lot of people. And its not like you absolutely need the praise to keep going- youve been excelling well all this time without it- but you would like it. After all, its nice to feel appreciated. Lest you begin to feel taken for granted, consider what you can do to get your boss to say a few of these simple yet important things.Thank him when it makes sense to maybe hell eventually follow your lead. Ask him outright how h e thinks youre doing- he may just be unaccustomed to delivering feedback, perhaps he never had managers who praised him. Inquire as to how you can improve and express interest in knowing what it is he thinks youre doing well. Make this an ongoing conversation, and show him that youre open to both constructive criticism and approval. Just remember, you cant control what comes out of your managers mouth- but you can control what comes out of yours. So if all else fails, build the culture of gratitude you want on the team by openly appreciating others. It might not rub off on him, but itll no doubt rub off on others. Photo of people looking at sticky notes courtesy of Westend61/Getty Images.