Seven Phrases That Should be Replaced with "Thank You"

Based on observations, it seems that some people have difficulty uttering the words "thank you" to their team.  My theory is that the avoidance of the utterance of such phrase allows the would-be thanker to ignore the fact that they are, indeed, beholden to their team for the accomplishments of the hour, day or year.

Instead, I have witnessed some of the more awkward expressions of gratitude that go something like this:

1.  "Well, that's a pretty good job."  Would it kill the speaker to go full out and just say, "Thank you for a job well done?"

2.  "You just go-go-go, don't you?  You're just busy-busy-busy.   You're a virtual whirlwind"  I suppose that's an acknowledgement of accomplishment, but it also makes the addressee akin to the famed EverReady bunny.   How about, "You bring incredible energy to our team and I just can't thank you enough."

3.   "Meet Sally, she's my little helper."    Nobody, and I mean NOBODY wants to be referred to as anyone's little helper.

4.  "I see that you're almost done with the Hutchins project - then we need to move on to the Johnson project."    Or, everyone could be encouraged to take a deep breath and be grateful for the progress on the Hutchins project prior to reminding everyone there's more work to be done.

5.  "My goodness - you got so much more done than you usually do."  And that would be a handshake and a slap.

6.   "You are certainly one of a kind." ???????????????????????????? and ?

7.  "I don't know what I'd do without you."   But if you don't thank the person, you may soon find out.

While often there may be good intent behind the ilk of phrases above - they don't necessarily express appreciation. . .or praise.   All of us want and need to have gratitude extended to us for what we do everyday. Use "thank you" generously and genuinely.

If you like it - share it - and thank you for doing so.

My book, "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available for 2.99 on Amazon Kindle.