Of all the responsibilities that fall on a CIO’s plate, one of the most important can also be one of the most rewarding: Showing appreciation to the team. Beyond the feel-good aspect of rewarding a job well done, recognition given on a regular basis is a key motivator for teams and will keep your best talent engaged and happy.
[ See our related article, Transformational leadership: 5 big mistakes execs make. ]
Of course, saying “thank you” is easy – and free. But we’ve found that this is an area where leaders like to get creative in how they express their gratitude. In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday this week, we’ve gathered some of these unique approaches below. Dig in!
Spend quality time together
John F. Milazzo Jr., CIO at Kodak Alaris
“I do two things: December of each year I take my direct reports to the same restaurant at the same round table, and I buy them dinner. We do a recap of the year. It has now become a tradition that everyone looks forward to."
"Also, over the last two years, I have invited my direct reports and supervisors, along with their significant others, to my house for a gathering. My perspective on that is their significant others hear about ‘John’ or ‘Betty’ all the time, so it is great to actually meet them in person. It also gives me time to better know my extended leadership team in a non-work setting.”
Give thank-you notes on Thanksgiving
Rob Zelinka, director, enterprise infrastructure and operations, FMC Technologies
“I show my appreciation by sending each of my direct reports a personalized email which is delivered on Thanksgiving day. In the letter, I outline areas where their contributions had a direct result on the company's success over the past year. I find people appreciate being acknowledged for their efforts, especially when you reference something that happened many months prior."
"In smaller organizations where the entire team is less than 100 team members, I tend to send each person in the department a personalized thank you note. I have found this practice to have a profound impact on my team's productivity and output as a small note from their top leader puts a spring in their step. Especially when received on a holiday where people tend to disconnect from work.”
Make individualized attention a habit
Cisco Sanchez, VP, enterprise foundational services, FedEx Services
"With a team of 254 people, I feel it’s important to ensure that each person feels like an individual and that their contributions matter. I truly believe small habits can make a big impact. One of the ways I show appreciation to my team is by speaking to them by name and asking them individually about their work. It’s amazing to see how eyes light up when people see that you have remembered their name and something unique about them. Appreciation opportunities are all around us. Saying ‘thank you' is free, and we all have something to be thankful for."
Start a viral “thanks”
Ashwin Krishnan, SVP of products and strategy, HyTrust
“My MO when it comes to giving thanks: Get on a digital pedestal, shout out loud, quickly and specifically, and ask others to do the same. Loose translation – ‘When you see something good, say something good to everyone.’ I love email for this. I send it out to as big an audience I can as soon as the good deed has been done. But there are some rules I use: I cc (not bcc) so there is good spam with a reply-all effect that happens once others start to respond. I reach out in advance, one on one, to folks who thrive on appreciating others, and I request them to do a reply-all to my email to get the virality going.”
Hit the town with the team
Dean Demos, CIO, Combined Insurance
“For my team, I host annual all staff recognition and team building events. In recent years, we’ve gone on Chicago architectural boat and bus tours, bowling, ball games and recently participated in an Escape Room team building experience. We also recognize individual contributions with ‘Kudos’ cards, allowing anyone to recognize anyone else for a job well done.”
Say it with food. Did someone say pie?
Robert Galvin, CTO, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
“One thing I started doing at the Port Authority was to institute ‘Pie with the CTO’ with project teams who hustle and finish a tough project on time or ahead of schedule. It’s a way of acknowledging a team who pulls together and perseveres despite obstacles, and who doesn’t like pie?”
Recognize and reward great ideas
Joe Kinsella, CTO and Founder of CloudHealth Technologies
“I always think that verbal praise goes a long way. Directly thanking someone for their work, or acknowledging a job well done, is an excellent way to show appreciation and celebrate successes. It sounds so simple but, as technologists, sometimes we can forget the importance of praise – especially if, like me, you’re someone who isn’t necessarily motivated by it. Yet managers really shouldn’t let this be a blind spot, since it’s very valuable to others. Always recognize and reward great ideas: we just had a hackathon, and the winner got to ship their feature. For an engineer, that’s the ultimate reward. On a lighter note, free food is always a big hit. Plus, our offices are located near a world-class brewery, so the refreshments are always high quality.”
Thank spouses and significant others, too
Ken Piddington, CIO, MRE Consulting
“No matter what you do to say thank you and show your team appreciation, you must make sure it is sincere and authentic. I’ve always given small gifts along with a personal note as a way of saying thank you and that you are appreciated. Unique pens and notebooks are a favorite of mine. The most unique thing I’ve ever done was to show appreciation for the sacrifices my teams' families make. After a particularly challenging project which required a number of my team to work very long hours, often traveling to other locations, I sent all their spouses flowers and a note thanking them for the support they give their husband/wife.”
Throw an end-of-year celebration
Dick Daniels, executive vice president and CIO, Kaiser Permanente
“Our technology team works very hard throughout the year, solving the impossible and doing all of the easy-to-overlook things that make a difference every day for our workforce, physicians, members, and patients. In addition to team celebrations and real-time communications to highlight wins, we also dedicate an IT-wide town hall event at the end of the year to celebrate accomplishments that represent employees from across our technology team. We hold this town hall with a live audience and video stream nation-wide. It’s a great way to close the year by reflecting on the scope and depth of our impact and by sharing a very heartfelt thank you.”
Celebrate the unsung heroes
Ann Dunkin, CIO, County of Santa Clara
"I ask my direct reports for a weekly report that provides short (one paragraph of 4-5 lines) descriptions of milestones achieved by their teams. I spend a couple hours every weekend going through the individual reports, selecting items that I think are notable and sending very short personal email messages to the staff members involved, with a copy to my direct report."
"All my messages are different, and I take a moment to comment on why the accomplishment is important to the organization or highlight other things I think are meaningful. I frequently receive responses thanking me for the messages or commenting that other people should be thanked as well – which I then do! But more importantly, I see the messages frequently forwarded back up the chain through all the managers who weren't included on the note because staff are proud to have received a personal thank you from the CIO."
