I received a beautiful email last week from my father. This month our family celebrated a 50^th wedding anniversary and my sons 18^th birthday. The email acknowledged family member’s contributions to making the days possible and shone a bright light on who people had become over the years. The email was filled with empathy and understanding and it reflected on how his grandchildren might perceive a 50^th anniversary as something inconceivable. He recognised the time away from their social lives, sporting events and the patience and interest they involved themselves in conversations on the day.

It was one large paragraph with no spaces and it left no one out. It was not a thank you; it was a recognition of each person’s greatness and it focused on “stepping into the shoes of the guest”. What struck me was the level of honesty and simpleness. When it is done well it makes everything right.  These people I call acknowledgement anchors. They clearly know the benefits of acknowledgement. They take the time to notice, to see, to find the words and they put them out there.

Acknowledgement is different to love. Consider this quote by Peter S. Beagle, Tamsin.

“But what I thought, and what I still think, and always will, is that she saw me. Nobody else has ever seen me — me, Jenny Gluckstein — like that. Not my parents, not Julian, not even Meena. Love is one thing — recognition is something else.”

This quote offers business leaders a new alternative. The idea that acknowledgment is having someone see you. Who are you not seeing?  What are you not doing?  Why not? To acknowledge powerfully consider some of these:

• Need to have a big heart
• To let go of any ego
• Be very real
• Step back and think
• Say it simply
• Be genuine and mean it
• Recognise the positive qualities
• Recognise possible opportunities for who they are being
• Honour who they are being now
• Shine a light on how they are making a difference even small
• See them as part of a bigger picture
• Accepting yourself through any of the above

This is not easy stuff! Great leaders SEE people all the time every day. It’s hardwired into their communication twenty four seven. It’s not a side salad option when times are tough. Nor is it a communication choice when things are good and quotas are being meet. It’s not an option at all. It needs to be embedded into the culture from the bottom up and top down.

The value on offer is productivity and increased engagement. Who in their right mind works harder when they are not seen? It makes an accumulated difference to the big picture. Acknowledgement creates opportunities for the growth completion cycle to keep turning. It keeps people engaged and allows them to open up and then create in ways that can be surprising.

In workplace literature, Ken Blanchard said in one minute manager” that:

Acknowledgement is about “catching people doing things right”.

I like that and I love asking myself the question “what is great about this person?”

Good Leaders recognise the contributions they and others make. Many leaders throughout history were not significantly recognised for their greatness. Mozart, Vincent Van Gogh, Frank Whittle, Wright Brothers, Roald Amumdsen, Shakespeare (Sir Francis Bacon), Emmeline Pankhurst, Nike Drake, Edward Jenner, Lumiere Brothers, Nikola Tesla, Che Guevara, Lech Walesa.

To be seen and acknowledged is a deep human need AND it makes the business world a better place. Not to not survive in – to THRIVE in. It is a direct strategy to thriving and building. Love is one thing. To be seen is another. The key dimension to acknowledging is relaxing that protective layering each and every one of us has. It may feel like a risk. It takes some trust to accept that we belong and what we have to say is contributing to building and sustaining long term relationships that are ultimately loving and worthwhile.