A Corporate Spin on the Meaning of Love
- Deborah (Ellen) Wildish
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
This article piggybacks on the February Valentine’s Day theme. I began by asking Generative AI to create an image that depicts a corporate spin on the meaning of love. Take a moment to view the result.
Let’s utilize a simple definition of love, described as a strong, positive feeling. Then we will explore various ways that leaders and managers can convey a corporate spin on love.
Consider these examples:
“I deeply appreciate your diligent work toward achieving this year’s strategic goals.”
“I have observed your dedication to assignments and effort to overcome obstacles.”
“You demonstrate a strong commitment to our corporate vision.”
“Your new ideas bring tremendous value to our team.”
“Your work has exceeded expectations for balancing quality and cost.”
Why should leaders and managers care about expressing love in corporate settings? First of all, when innovative ideas are shared and challenging work is accomplished, expressions of appreciation help to encourage similar work performance in the future.
Employee retention is also directly linked to corporate expressions of love. A study by Idris Adetayo Adesina and Olive Ugadiya Egbuta (2025) entitled: Strategic Reward and Recognition Systems: Driving employee engagement and retention in talent management practices, emphasized the importance of embedding employee recognition into the corporate culture. Their advice is to define specific metrics that are consistently integrated into performance reviews across the organization.
Dr. Harold Andrew Patrick et al (2026) wrote a book (472 pages) entitled: Applied Research for Growth, Innovation and Sustainable Impact. Case studies are shared that cover critical topics such as the use of Generative AI in Corporations and of course, human resource development and engagement. Dr. Patrick’s research findings have linked employee engagement, performance and retention to workplace trust, employee recognition and rewards.
Employees who do not feel appreciated are more likely to apply less effort. The worst-case scenario is when a high performing employee gradually becomes disengaged. Signs of disengagement include apathy, a lack of vigor and pessimism. A concerning situation arises when these employees are not motivated to seek work elsewhere and they settle into the practice of achieving minimum work requirements. This is detrimental to a Corporation’s survival, it impedes the ability to solve complex challenges and generate innovative solutions.
Cinder to Flame helps Corporations solve complex challenges with strategic services that energize people, fuel a healthy corporate culture and ignite major innovation.
Beyond words, what actions can the leadership and management team undertake? Even small expressions of corporate love can make a difference. I’ll share one strategy that was successful with my former team. I shared their accomplishments with stakeholders and those higher in the corporate hierarchy. I wrote a concise e-mail message that named the employee(s) and summarized their accomplishment. This was very effective for employee recognition and raising awareness among senior managers. A gentle reminder that timeliness is very important to maximize positive impact.
Monetary rewards can also be effective. However, studies of best practices recommend a combined approach that also includes a non-monetary reward system. For example, managers can offer new learning opportunities or an invitation to participate in an innovative initiative that dovetails with the employee’s interests. The latter phrase is extremely important because if an opportunity doesn’t align with an employee’s interests, “more work or additional responsibilities” can backfire and be perceived as a negative consequence.
I’ll switch perspectives and conclude with my best experience as the recipient of corporate love. This occurred after leading the design and implementation of a novel initiative, a complex project to cut-the-red-tape and expedite best patient care services. My director nominated my project for an Innovation award. Several years later, I still proudly display the crystal star near my desk. This is a symbolic reminder of the extensive collaboration, varied partnerships and leadership support that led to success.
Delve deeper and read another Cinder to Flame article about building a healthy corporate culture of gratitude and appreciation:
© Deborah (Ellen) Wildish, Cinder to Flame 2022-Present. All Rights Reserved.
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