A thank you is great, but showing appreciation to colleagues, friends, and family for something they’ve done for you is even more satisfying! In a professional context, showing gratitude is happening too little for different reasons: it’s uncommon (regarded as not done, not part of the culture, etc.). Although said and proven in research, showing gratitude is a tremendous intrinsic incentive: this is essential to keep your employees motivated! Organizations should be as aware of intrinsic motivators as extrinsic motivators.

How can we achieve this?

Discover “Kudo Cards”

Kudo cards are a way to express gratitude in a written and visible way. Express your appreciation for a colleague for completing a task, giving support, helping you, meeting a deadline, whatever! A Kudo is written and provided by your peers (including ‘hierarchical’ peers). Everyone can give a Kudo to everyone!

Management 3.0 provides this kind of Kudo card, making it easy to start! You can buy the Kudo cards or download and print them yourself. The idea is that anyone can take, write, and give a Kudo card at any time, or you can collect them at regular intervals to distribute the Kudos (for example, as part of the retrospective). Or you can stick it up on the wall.

Kudo box

You can easily create the Kudo box yourself. As I did, take a shoebox and make it colorful! See the pictures below! The thank you, and achievement cards are available to everyone.

How to begin?

The best way to introduce this practice is to start yourself! Give an example! We’ve created this practice in our team, and we try to make it visible for others and inspire others to participate or make a Kudo box for their team!

Kudo 2 you!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OotzTcZ2a4]