Elisha, one of our long time readers,
asked about how to thank direct reports.
He already sent a group thank you out,
copying the management team.
That is more than sufficient.
A sign of a great boss.
However,
if Elisha wanted to make the thank you
even more meaningful,
he could also send a individual thank you email
to each team member,
copying his own boss (or human resources).
This email would be written
as though a third party might read it
a decade from now.
There’d be an explanation of what the task was
and why it was important.
Then Elisha should casually mention verbally
(and individually)
that this is for their files.
Reference letters are dead.
Managers are too worried about lawsuits.
These thank you’s can verified without that worry.
They can also be forwarded to friends and family.
Oh, and bringing in baked goods for the team
also helps.