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By William F. Nazzaro, founder of The Time to Lead Institute, leadership expert, performance and executive coach, and trusted advisor to leaders navigating transformation and cultural change.

Most leaders I meet will tell you they appreciate their teams.

But that’s not the real question.

The real question is: do your people feel appreciated?

Years ago, I heard a line that has stayed with me:

“As a leader, you have to learn to lead those who are different from you.”

That includes how you show appreciation.

Left on autopilot, we default to our preferred style of appreciation. The problem is that your team is full of people who are not you. When you only show appreciation in the way that feels natural to you, you will inevitably miss people.

And when people don’t feel appreciated, they don’t owe you their best work.

If you’re honest, do you know how your team members most like to be appreciated—or are you guessing?

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