The Hidden Power of Acknowledgment
You’ve been working on a project for weeks. Late nights. Extra effort. You’ve double-checked every detail, made thoughtful decisions, and finally, it’s ready. You send it off to your boss.
And then… nothing.
No reply. No comment. Just silence.
Days pass. You wonder if they even saw it. Eventually, you find out they went in a different direction—or worse, they used your work without ever mentioning it.
Something inside you deflates. You don’t make a big deal of it, but next time? You do just enough to get by. No extra effort. No late nights. No double-checking. Why bother?
Now imagine the same scenario—but this time, your boss responds. “Got it. Thanks for the effort on this.” That’s it. Just a simple acknowledgment. Nothing elaborate. No bonus or grand praise. But somehow, it lands differently. You feel seen. And the next time, when the project requires that extra push, you give it.
Why does such a small thing make such a big difference?
The Science Behind It
Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist, wanted to understand exactly that. He designed a study where participants were given a mind-numbing task: finding pairs of letters on sheets of paper. It was monotonous work, but they were paid for each sheet they completed. The catch? Their payment decreased with every sheet.
But the real experiment wasn’t about money. It was about acknowledgment.
Participants were split into three groups:
The Acknowledged Group – They handed in their completed sheets, and the experimenter glanced at them, said “Uh huh,” and placed them in a pile.
The Ignored Group – They handed in their work, but the experimenter didn’t even look. Just took the paper and set it aside.
The Shredded Group – These participants watched as their work was fed directly into a shredder, completely unseen.
The results were staggering.
The acknowledged group completed significantly more sheets than the others. But here’s the shocking part—the ignored group performed almost exactly the same as the shredded group.
Think about that. When their work was ignored, it was just as demotivating as having it literally destroyed in front of them.
We tend to think motivation is about big rewards—raises, promotions, public recognition. But this experiment reveals something deeper. Just acknowledging someone’s effort—even in the smallest way—can be the difference between them staying engaged or checking out.
And the reverse is just as powerful. When we ignore effort, we don’t just fail to motivate. We actively demotivate.
Now, think back to your own workplace. How many times have you unintentionally drained someone’s motivation—by staying silent when you could have acknowledged their work?
And how easy would it be to change that?
A quick reply. A small nod. A simple “I see what you did here.” That’s all it takes.
No grand gestures. No elaborate praise. Just a moment of acknowledgment. And that moment can change everything.
Because the moment people feel invisible, motivation vanishes.
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This post is an excerpt from my upcoming book, a practical handbook for executing strategy from an operator’s point of view. Drawing on decades of real-world experience, it’s designed to help leaders turn strategy into action through clear, actionable steps. Stay tuned for more insights and updates as we get closer to launch!
