Showing your gratitude has power. It builds relationships. It strengthens bonds between teams. It lays foundations that can pave the way for future assistance, should you need it. Saying thanks can also prevent erosion of those same relationships or alienating someone that helped so that they never want to help you again. It's a powerful glue with the power to bond together and prevent from breaking apart. So here are a couple of ways you can say thank you.
Big Thank Yous
You could always go over the top, buying the person something or taking them out to lunch. I had a boss one time that would thank his teams with Mont Blanc pens and a team dinner after wrapping a project. If you have the cash and want to spend it on them, do so. They will appreciate it. I still have a couple of those Mont Blancs fifteen years later. That said, this can be a rather pricey way to show appreciation, especially if you have multiple people to thank. Another lower cost method may be more your style. You don't have to buy expensive writing utensils either. A ten dollar Starbucks or Amazon gift card still brings it big.
Thanks With an Email
Perhaps one of the easiest things to do is to shoot someone an email. I recommend you put some thought into it. If you send a one word email that just says "Thanks," the chances are that the recipient will care about the email as much as you cared writing it. Instead, I recommend you be explicit about what they did to help you, but as important, I urge you to tie it back to the benefit that their help provided. That will help them see how they fit in the big picture, which may bring you some political capital to get assistance from them in the future. Copy their supervisor.
Hand Write a Thank You
Nobody writes anything by hand anymore. As a result, receiving a heartfelt handwritten thank you is a novelty. A handwritten note brings a more personal feel to it than its digital counterpart, and your handwriting leaves a personal stamp on the thank you. Taking the effort to get some nice cards and envelopes to send the thank you in adds even more class to it.
Just Say Thanks
If none of the above options work for you, maybe just a verbal thanks will. Even so something as the simple verbal thanks can easily be overlooked or forgotten. Still, even a verbal thank you is more gratitude than most hear on a given day. So even if it is the least you can do, it may be their best.
In the end, it does not necessarily matter how you say thank you, so long as you do.
Go out and thank someone today.
Image credit: herblady28 on Pixabay
