Remember to Tell Your In-House Team What They Are Doing Right

It’s an attorney’s job to identify what’s going wrong—or could go wrong—and point it out. But when you’re managing a team of in-house attorneys, you should also tell them what’s going right.

If you think back on your career, you’ll distinctly remember those bosses, colleagues, or mentors who gave you praise. And you may also remember that after those experiences, their work magically seemed to float to the top of your desk. You can earn that same loyalty if you take time to positively acknowledge what people are doing.

Compare a positive acknowledgment of contribution with an effusive thank you—commonly used. To an associate, the effusive thank you might take the form of, “Lisa, that was a super memo. Thank you!!!” Multiple exclamation points may seem nice, but come across as insincere and don’t provide any insight about why the person’s work made a difference. This type of feedback doesn’t let Lisa know why she was successful or how to be more effective in the future.

By contrast, effective acknowledgment includes each of the following elements:

• Noticing a specific action or work product
• Identifying the specific individual contribution
• The impact of the contribution
• Genuine expression of gratitude

Imagine how differently Lisa will react when she receives the following email instead:

• Lisa, I notice you took the time to look at analogous case law in the Second Circuit. I hadn’t thought of that, but that addition into the brief gives our judge a clearer path to agreeing with our argument. As a result, I think our odds of winning our case just increased probably by 20%. Thank you for your initiative and creativity.

This email makes it clear to Lisa that you reward initiative and creativity. In the future, she won’t be afraid to explore different arguments as long as she feels it will help you better position litigation.

The technique can be applied to all workforce relationships and in any direction. Consider how your peer, the chief communications officer, might respond if he hears the following from you:

• Jamal, I wanted you to know how much I value the daily email clips you send out. I know that you’re up working on them at 6 a.m. Today, the alert you provided allowed me to provide a better briefing to our board chair about the risks associated with artificial intelligence. As a result, we were about to have a more meaningful discussion about our company’s risk tolerance, and we got into alignment more quickly. Your effort to keep me informed made a difference. Thank you.

Based on that conversation, Jamal will look for opportunities to keep you abreast of risk management issues that might inform your advice to the board.

You can also apply the technique to clients. Consider how a deputy general counsel might respond to the following:

• Jeff, thank you for including the VP of sales in our last call. Through the conversation, we learned more about the competitive pressures your company is facing. As a result of hearing directly from your internal client, we were able to draft talking points that will be more on point as she tries to convince potential customers of the compliance value your company brings. The conversation saved us all time. Thank you.

Jeff will probably be more willing to let you talk directly with his colleagues if he knows it will increase efficiency.

And finally, you can even use the method with your supervisor. Consider what a partner might do in the future if you tell her the following:

• Amanda, thank you for providing previous memos on similar topics for company XYZ. I was able to model the format and spent much less time preparing the memo. It also seemed like you spent much less time editing the work product. As a result, we were collectively able to get back to the client in less time than they expected. Thank you for showing me how a more successful work product looks.

Based on this conversation, Amanda will probably try to think more about what you need for an assignment before telling you to start the work.

We know that this format of positive acknowledgment may seem awkward at first. But it gets easier with practice. We suggest starting the practice with emails to ensure you include all the elements. Soon, you’ll be ready to positively acknowledge others in person.

A few more secrets here. First, positive acknowledgment doesn’t always have to be immediate. You could start a conversation this way:

• Jorge, I’ve been thinking back to the meeting last week when you asked the team to create space for Beth to speak. I noticed she was having problems getting a word in edgewise. As a result of the pause you created, she was able to explain more about the facts we needed to fully evaluate the merger. As a result, we reached a better decision on our negotiating position. Thanks for making the team stronger.

Jorge is going to especially value that you remembered his actions a week later. Second, you can use the technique intermittently.

Now you may be wondering if you should positively acknowledge every member of your team every time they do something good. The answer is up to you. Certainly, you want to do it in a way that’s genuine, well-received, and appreciated by the recipients of your gratitude. But you also don’t want to—nor is it realistic to—do this every day for every little thing.

It’s up to you to make the effort as often as you feel necessary and find the balance that works for you and your team.You’re going to have to make this practice your own. Use your own words. Find the right cadence.

Set a goal of applying positive acknowledgment four times a week for three months. We bet your colleagues will start viewing you in a different light.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

Janea Hawkins is assistant general counsel, employment law at Freddie Mac, an organization committed to making homeownership and rental housing more accessible and affordable nationwide.

Rob Falk is general counsel of Truth Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to helping youth lead lives free from smoking, vaping and nicotine addiction.

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