Importance of the word “Thank You”

Ever wondered why this phrase “Thank You was coined”?

Coming to think about it, it’s an amazing invention in the language of English. It has crossed geographical boundaries and captured the tongues of the world.

I was on my way to Dubai from Abu Dhabi and I just cannot sit idling by nature. As usual I plunged my eyes on to the emails on my phone (Please do not try this as it can cause accidents). I realized that my team keep sending me updates and information where I have an option to simply say OK or Noted.

For a moment, I started thinking that a word of thanks instead of an ok or noted would put a smile on my team’s face.

It’s a very simple mindful gesture that a leader has to inculcate in his daily transactions. The word ok sometimes on some email communications sound very formulaic and authoritative. It doesn’t carry any emotional element in it.

Very little the leaders are aware that there are a lot of people out there expecting to hear a word of “Thank You”. How many leaders today are mindful of this gesture? Some take it for granted that the employees beneath them are expected to do their job and the very fact that they are getting paid is equivalent to the gesture of saying “thank you”. Imagine an office environment where people are mindful in using the phrase “thank you” in their daily conversations and see how positive the work culture would turn out to.

I am also quite titillated on the way some people say it. The irony is that you can even say this word in an angst or in sarcasm and it totally turns down the very purpose of this phrase. An expression of thank you with genuineness is what matters in work-relationship.

Next time when you interact with your team members, colleagues or leaders, just remember to do the following:

1. Make it a point to genuinely say thank you with a smile
2. Write “thank you” instead of “noted” or “ok”.
3. Start an email sentence thanking wherever applicable in responding to emails.
4. Take efforts to say “thank you” even to a cashier at the supermarket, a cobbler on the road who mended your shoes, a taxi driver, to that one young lad who offered a seat to you on the train, to your mates in elevator who waited for you to alight first and many more….
5. Even if your subordinates have done some job as you have asked them to do, make an effort to say “thank you” for doing that.

Most leaders hold on to these minor but important gestures as the position, title etc. gets on to their heads and it then become a concern of ego. A leader expressing these gestures genuinely will inspire people and would find himself being respected for being humble and down to earth.

It’s a pity that many managers out there in the world of management & leadership ignore such simple but powerful acts of managing and leading people.

So, friends, wait not to start using this magic word of “Thank You” in your daily life.

While I end my quick blog on this thought of mine, allow me to thank you for showing the patience to read this.

Source: personal notes of Binu Prasad.

Note: Usage of words indicating one gender in this article is to be considered for both the genders.