The Nudge of Thanking People in Advance
Here are a few interesting research facts:
Placing a picture of an eye next to a bicycle rack reduces theft.
Playing music from a given wine-producing region increases the likelihood of customers purchasing wine from that region.
People report less pain after taking an expensive painkiller as opposed to an inexpensive one.
Diners eat more when food portions are called small or medium.
A sign near the elevators that reads “Most people take the stairs” nearly doubles the number of people who choose the stairway.
These so-called nudges rely on cues placed in the environment to subtly influence behavior.
Specific words, photos, and music prime people to do things they would likely do anyway, but they reinforce the need to do them. Such nudges and priming messages are powerful tools for gaining higher compliance in the workplace.
Ben Franklin understood nudges all too well. He was perhaps the first to write about the power of thanking people in advance for work that has yet to be done. The nudge of thanking people in advance for gaining compliance and commitment is highly effective and not in the least bit underhanded.
A simple, “Thanks to everyone who has cleaned out the company refrigerator,” encourages people to keep the fridge free of old food and points to a norm a leader wants to reaffirm.
When a leader says, “Thank you for your commitment to our new sales process,” it helps a group solidify the desired allegiance to the new activity and elevates the team’s dedication.
Thanking people in advance for something they would do anyway is simply a nudge and nothing more. But it works.
Perhaps the most important thank-you nudges for leaders are:
Expressions of appreciation for quality work before it has been completed.
Thanking people for their candidness before they are candid.
Thanking them for following group norms before they do.
Consider incorporating these nudges in your everyday leadership. You might find that team members live up to the expectations that you set.
Sometimes people just need a little nudge to do what they always intended to.
This is good advice, but the appreciation has to be sincere and its expression nuanced. People who end requests with “thank you in advance” come across as crass and manipulative. The examples of pre-gratitude you offer are more on the mark than what one typically sees.
This is such an interesting take on behavioral nudges—especially the idea of using preemptive gratitude as a tool for reinforcing norms. It makes me wonder about the fine line between a nudge and outright manipulation. At what point does a well-placed cue become coercive rather than reinforcing autonomy?
For example, if thanking people in advance for their candidness leads to more openness in a meeting, that’s great. But could it also subtly pressure someone into speaking when they might have preferred to stay silent?
I’m also thinking about the unintended consequences of nudges. If we use them too frequently or in the wrong context, do they lose their power? Or worse—could they create skepticism, making people feel like they’re being subtly controlled rather than genuinely encouraged?
Curious to hear others’ thoughts—where do you see the ethical boundaries of nudging in leadership?