Why Appreciation Belongs at the Center of Engineering Leadership
As the year comes to a close, leadership moments often look the same: milestone reviews, hardware pictures, schedules achieved, and deliverables completed. These reflections matter—but they are only part of the story. This year, during our final bi-weekly meeting, I chose to focus on something else: the people behind the progress.
Key Points
- Leadership signals what matters through where attention is placed.
- Appreciation becomes powerful when linked to real contributions and outcomes.
- Recognition strengthens trust, ownership, and team cohesion.
- Culture is shaped through visible leadership behavior, not statements.
- Gratitude should be continuous, not reserved for year-end moments.
Shifting the Focus from Outcomes to People
In our last bi-weekly meeting of the year, instead of reviewing hardware images or summarizing milestones, I reflected on project successes through a different lens. I connected progress directly to how each team member shows up every day—through ownership, reliability, collaboration, and leadership within their projects.
The intention was simple: to make visible the often unseen behaviors that enable complex engineering work to move forward. In system AIT environments, success is rarely the result of one action or one decision. It is the accumulation of consistent, dependable contributions across many interfaces.
Making Appreciation Specific and Meaningful
After linking project success to daily contributions, I took a second round—this time focusing on individual appreciation. For each team member, I highlighted a specific trait, value, or way of working, and how it positively impacts the team and the projects they support.
This was not about general praise. It was about making the connection between behavior and outcome explicit—showing how individual strengths reinforce the team as a system.
I also handed each team member a small gift: a piece of chocolate with a handwritten note saying, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I am glad that you are in the team.”
Leading by Example
This moment was a stretch for me. Expressing appreciation so openly was not something I was used to doing. But leadership is not about staying within comfort zones—it is about setting direction through action.
By choosing to do this, I wanted to model a behavior I believe in: appreciation as a leadership practice, not a ceremonial act. Culture is not built through statements or values on slides. It is built through what leaders consistently demonstrate.
Why Appreciation Matters in Engineering Teams
In high-pressure, technically complex environments, appreciation is often overlooked. Yet trust, psychological safety, and a sense of belonging are prerequisites for accountability and performance. When people feel seen and valued for how they contribute—not just for what they deliver—they are more likely to take ownership and support each other across interfaces.
Gratitude, when grounded in real work and real impact, becomes part of the operational foundation of a team.
Beyond the End of the Year
This moment was not meant to be a closing ritual. It was a starting point. Appreciation should not wait for the end of the year or special occasions. It should be shared whenever it feels right—when contributions matter, when behaviors align with values, and when leadership presence can reinforce what truly counts.
For me, this was a step toward fostering that mindset more consistently and leading by example.
A Leadership Reflection
Where do you place attention as a leader—especially in visible moments?
What behaviors are you reinforcing through what you choose to highlight?
Engineering leadership is not only about systems, processes, and milestones. It is also about recognizing the people who make those systems work, every single day.
Engineer Your Life 