Appreciation is not soft, its strategic

By Paul Nyausaru

In many boardrooms and leadership conversations, appreciation is still quietly misunderstood.

It is often dismissed as soft, emotional, or peripheral to the “real work” of leadership—strategy, systems, targets, and performance.

When pressure rises, leaders tend to tighten controls, demand compliance, and focus sharply on what is not working. Appreciation, if it surfaces at all, is treated as a morale booster rather than a serious leadership practice.

This perception is not only outdated; it is strategically flawed.

Organizations today operate in environments marked by uncertainty, rapid change, and growing complexity.

In such conditions, leadership effectiveness depends less on control and more on the ability to mobilise people’s thinking, commitment, and creativity. Appreciation becomes strategic precisely because it influences these human dynamics.

It shapes how people show up, how they respond to change, and how willing they are to go beyond minimum requirements.

Most organizations are highly skilled at identifying problems. Performance reviews highlight gaps, audits focus on non-compliance, and meetings revolve around risks, errors, and failures. While these mechanisms have their place, an excessive focus on deficits comes at a cost.

When people experience leadership attention only when something is wrong, fear gradually replaces curiosity. Compliance takes the place of commitment. Innovation declines as individuals focus on avoiding mistakes rather than creating value.

Over time, even well-designed systems begin to underperform because the human energy needed to sustain them has been depleted.

Appreciation is often mistakenly equated with lowered standards or a reluctance to confront poor performance.

In reality, the absence of appreciation weakens accountability.

People disengage not because expectations are high, but because they feel unseen, undervalued, and disconnected from purpose. When effort, learning, and contribution go unnoticed, performance becomes transactional rather than meaningful.

Appreciation, when practiced intentionally, is not about praise for its own sake.

It is the disciplined act of noticing and strengthening what gives life to people and organizations. It involves recognising strengths, valuing effort, and drawing attention to moments of success, resilience, and learning.

By doing so, leaders clarify what excellence looks like. People are far more likely to stretch, adapt, and take responsibility when they believe their strengths matter and their contributions are recognised.

In complex environments, leadership challenges are rarely linear or technical. They involve judgment, relationships, and the ability to work across differences. Leaders cannot rely solely on authority or rules to navigate such conditions.

They must create alignment without coercion and commitment without fear. Appreciation becomes strategic because it builds trust, enables dialogue, and supports collective problem-solving. Leaders who practice appreciation listen more deeply, integrate diverse perspectives, and foster collaboration even under pressure. They do not deny difficulty, but they refuse to let difficulty define the future.

One of the most persistent myths in leadership is that focusing on people undermines performance. Evidence from practice consistently suggests the opposite.

Organizations that embed appreciation into leadership behaviours experience higher engagement, stronger collaboration, and more sustainable results.

Appreciation accelerates learning by focusing on what works, not only on what fails. It strengthens accountability by linking performance to shared values and purpose. Importantly, it does not eliminate tough conversations. Instead, it changes how those conversations are held, making feedback more likely to be heard, owned, and acted upon.

Across sectors, leaders are confronting rising burnout, disengagement, and declining trust. While technology has increased speed and efficiency, it has often come at the expense of meaning and connection.

People are not asking leaders to lower expectations; they are asking leaders to see them. Appreciation restores humanity to leadership and reminds us that performance is ultimately a human outcome, not merely a technical one.

In a world defined by uncertainty and constant change, appreciation is not soft. It is strategic.

Paul Nyausaru is an organization development practitioner  and appreciative leadership specialist.