National Boss’s Day gives us a reason to thank a leader. But it also gives leaders a reason to pause. What if the moment you’re being recognized for could create four wins instead of one?
Situational leadership design starts there. Not with doing more. With seeing more before you act.
Lead by design. Not by default.
Why does National Boss’s Day matter beyond appreciation?
A thank-you matters. So does what happens next.
Recognition is often treated as a finished moment: someone says thank you, the leader smiles, and everyone returns to work. That is one win. A meaningful recognition moment can do more.
It can honor the result, strengthen the relationship, reveal learning, and build the capacity the team will need next. Four wins. One moment.
That is the difference between recognizing a leader and designing the interaction around recognition.
Gallup and Workhuman found that 61% of employees are engaged when they receive both feedback and recognition from their manager at least weekly. When employees receive weekly feedback but recognition less often, engagement is 38%. [1]
The point is not to turn every thank-you into another meeting. The point is to notice that recognition is part of the leadership system. It shapes what people believe matters, what they feel safe contributing, and what they are willing to carry forward.
What are the four wins available in one leadership moment?
Chapter 7 of my book, Courageous Curiosity, names the pattern: most leaders optimize for the deliverable and leave the other opportunities untouched.
The four wins are simple to name:
•Results: What needs to get done?
•Relationships: What trust, alignment, or connection is available here?
•Learning: What does this moment have to teach us?
•Future capacity: What will this interaction make possible later?
The results win is usually obvious. The others require a wider lens.
Consider a manager receiving praise for keeping a project moving. A single-win response is, “Thank you. We got it done.” A stacked response might be, “Thank you. I’m proud of the result, and I’m especially proud of how the team handled the handoffs. What did we learn that should become part of how we work? Who needs more room to lead the next one?”
Same recognition. More available.
This is not a talent problem. It is a design problem. Courageous Curiosity℠ is the operating system that helps leaders stay curious about what they might be missing and act on what they discover. Curiosity is the spark. Courage is the oxygen. Goals are the fuel.
How does R³ help leaders turn recognition into a stacked win?
R³ (Reflect, Reframe, Respond) is the execution engine for Courageous Curiosity. Used forward, it helps you design the moment before you enter it.
Reflect. What is actually being recognized? Is it only the outcome, or also the decisions, relationships, and contributions that made it possible? Whose work is visible? Whose work is still behind the curtain?
Reframe. What could this moment produce beyond appreciation? Could it clarify what good looks like? Invite a lesson? Give someone else ownership? Strengthen the relationship between the leader and the team?
Respond. Choose the words or question that serves more than one outcome.
For example: “I appreciate the recognition. I also want to make sure the team gets credit, because this result came from their judgment and follow-through. What should we carry forward from the way we handled this?”
That response receives the appreciation without hoarding it. It recognizes the result, shares credit, opens learning, and points toward future capacity.
This is what leading by design sounds like in an ordinary moment.
How can leaders use National Boss’s Day without making it performative?
Start by resisting the urge to make the day about the title.
If you are receiving recognition, receive it. Do not deflect it with “It was nothing.” Then widen the moment with a question: “What did we create together that made this possible?”
If you are recognizing your boss, be specific. Name the action and its impact. Then, if the relationship allows it, add what the leadership made possible for the team. Specificity turns a polite message into useful information.
If you are planning a corporate recognition event, design the interaction around more than applause. Ask leaders to name one result, one relationship that mattered, one lesson, and one capability they want the team to strengthen next.
This matters because the leadership middle is carrying more than a title. DDI reports that 71% of leaders have experienced a significant increase in stress since stepping into their current role, and 54% are concerned about burnout. [2] When leaders operate only for the immediate deliverable, the work may move forward while trust, learning, and capacity quietly drain away.
Recognition cannot solve every leadership condition. But it can reveal what an organization chooses to notice and reinforce.
What should leaders ask before responding?
Before your next meeting, handoff, decision, or recognition moment, ask four questions:
•What result is available?
•What relationship is available?
•What learning is available?
•What future capacity is available?
You do not need a longer script. You need a wider view.
That is the uncomfortable recognition: efficiency may be costing you compounded results. You may be solving the problem while leaving the moment underdesigned.
National Boss’s Day can be a thank-you. It can also be a leadership practice. One moment. Four wins.
Conclusion
If you are a leader, do not measure a recognition moment only by whether the words sounded gracious. Ask what the moment strengthened, surfaced, and made possible next.
That is how appreciation becomes alignment, learning, and capacity instead of a brief pause in the work.
For keynote inquiries, leadership events, or a conversation about Courageous Curiosity, connect through the Let’s Connect button at the top right of the screen or email chays@inpowerstrategists.com.
Lead by design. Not by default.
Sources
[1] Gallup and Workhuman, “Organizations Can Redefine Feedback by Including Recognition,” 2024. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/651812/organizations-redefine-feedback-including-recognition/
[2] DDI, “Value of Developing Middle Managers,” June 26, 2026. https://www.ddi.com/blog/value-of-middle-managers
[3] National Boss’s Day 2026 date: October 16, 2026. https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/october/october-16?year=2026
Questions Event Planners and Leaders Ask
Who is Cheryle Hays as a keynote speaker?
Cheryle Hays is The Human Potentialist, an international speaker, best-selling author, leadership strategist, and executive coach. She helps leaders lead by design instead of default by upgrading the operating system beneath how they think, choose, act, connect, and lead.
What topics does Cheryle Hays speak on?
Cheryle speaks on Courageous Curiosity, leading from the middle, leadership through change, AI and the human center, culture and communication, psychological safety with accountability, engagement, ownership, and sustainable performance.
Is Cheryle Hays available for corporate leadership events?
Yes. Cheryle is available for corporate keynotes, leadership events, workshops, and executive or group coaching engagements. Her work is designed for organizations navigating constant pressure, change, and the need for stronger ownership.
What does a Courageous Curiosity keynote cover?
A Courageous Curiosity keynote covers the shift from reactive default to intentional design. It introduces Courageous Curiosity as a leadership operating system and R³ as the execution engine that helps leaders reflect, reframe, and respond toward better outcomes.
What industries does Cheryle Hays speak to?
Cheryle speaks across industries, with particular experience and positioning for technology, manufacturing and defense manufacturing, architecture and design, finance and insurance, legal and professional services, and women-focused leadership.
What outcomes can we expect from a Cheryle Hays keynote?
Audiences leave with clearer decisions, stronger alignment, practical language for human dynamics, and tools for building trust, engagement, ownership, accountability, and future capacity.
What is Courageous Curiosity leadership?
Courageous Curiosity leadership is the practice of staying genuinely curious about what you may be missing and being courageous enough to act on what you discover. It is an operating system for leading by design instead of default.
Why is curiosity critical for leadership?
Curiosity replaces assumption with understanding. It helps leaders surface missing information, hear perspectives they may have overlooked, and see more possibilities before choosing a response.
Why is courage critical for leadership?
Courage allows leaders to tolerate discomfort in service of better outcomes. It helps them stay present, include others, question their own assumptions, and act on what curiosity reveals.
Why do leaders need both courage and curiosity?
Curiosity shows what may be possible. Courage determines what you will do about it. Without curiosity, courage can become bluntness. Without courage, curiosity can remain observation without action.
How does the R³ framework help leaders?
R³ means Reflect, Reframe, Respond. Reflect surfaces what is true, assumed, and missing. Reframe expands the definition of success. Respond turns that broader view into intentional action.
What is the difference between reacting and responding as a leader?
Reacting follows the default pattern and usually optimizes for the loudest immediate demand. Responding is a conscious choice toward a larger outcome, including results, relationships, learning, and future capacity.
What is situational leadership design?
Situational leadership design means shaping a meeting, conversation, decision, or recognition moment to produce more than the immediate deliverable. It asks what results, relationships, learning, and future capacity are available together.
How can National Boss’s Day create more than appreciation?
Leaders can use the moment to recognize the result, share credit, surface learning, strengthen relationships, and identify the capability the team should build next.
How does recognition affect employee engagement?
Gallup and Workhuman found that 61% of employees are engaged when they receive both feedback and recognition from their manager at least weekly. The figure is 38% when employees receive weekly feedback but recognition less often.
What are stacked goals in leadership?
Stacked goals are multiple outcomes intentionally carried into the same interaction: results, relationships, learning, and future capacity.
What should a leader say when receiving recognition?
A leader can receive the appreciation directly, share credit with the people who contributed, and ask what the team learned or should carry forward from the experience.
Author Bio
Cheryle Hays is The Human Potentialist, founder of InPower Strategists LLC, an international speaker, best-selling author, leadership strategist, and executive coach. With 25+ years in technology and leadership, she helps leaders lead by design instead of default through Courageous Curiosity℠ and R³. She holds an EMBA from Texas Christian University, and her work has been recognized by the Smithsonian Institution. Cheryle is a 2026 TEDx speaker and author of Courageous Curiosity: For Leaders Brave Enough to Lead Differently, releasing in 2026. Contact CHAYS@inpowerstrategists.com or visit cherylehays.com.
