Are you still praising, or already showing appreciation?

Are you still praising, or already showing appreciation?

Once upon a time, a managing director entered his office one morning while the cleaner was finishing the daily cleaning.
He looked at her with a friendly smile and said:
“Good morning, Ms Meyer. Thank you, you’ve done a good job!”

The cleaner replied politely:
“Thank you. Have a nice day.”

Cut:

Once upon a time, a female managing director entered her office one morning while the cleaner was finishing the daily cleaning.

She looked at him with a friendly smile and said:

“Good morning, Mr Meyer. How lovely to meet you here today. I enjoy coming into a clean, tidy office every day. Thank you for the work you have done for me and our company for so many years. I simply wanted to tell you that.”

Visibly surprised, the cleaner replied:

“How wonderful, thank you. That makes me very happy. I actually thought nobody here noticed me and nobody saw my work.”

Do you recognise the difference between #Praise and #Appreciation?

And then there was a third managing director, who entered his office one morning while the cleaner was finishing the daily cleaning and simply said, “Good morning.”