If you’ve spent much time around young children, you’ve probably seen some version of this interaction play out when you hand a snack to a toddler:
Parent: “What do you say?”
Child (mouth full, all attention on remaining food): “Mmankoo”
You may or may not find this charming behavior in a three-year-old, but for adults—and especially for adults in leadership—gratitude is something worth taking very seriously. Few things motivate people better than feeling appreciated, and few things are more demoralizing than feeling unappreciated.