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Thank you cards

What to write in a thank you card for your boss

For a manager who backed you, promoted you, or gave you cover when you needed it. Sincere without sounding like a pitch.

  • Thank you for backing me on this. I know it was not the easy call, and I know what it cost you.

    Heartfelt

  • Thank you for the time you gave me when things were difficult last year. It mattered more than I probably showed.

    Heartfelt

  • Thank you for trusting me with something I was not obviously ready for. It turned out to be the thing I learned the most from.

    Heartfelt

  • Thank you for approving that, and for pretending not to notice how long I sat on it first.

    Funny

  • Thank you for the support this quarter. I promise to use my powers responsibly for at least a fortnight.

    Funny

  • Thank you for the support. It is genuinely appreciated.

    Short

  • Thanks for backing me on this one.

    Short

  • Thank you. It made a real difference.

    Short

  • Grateful for your support this year. Thank you.

    Short

  • Thank you for your guidance and support over the past year. It has been greatly appreciated.

    Formal

  • With sincere thanks for the opportunities you have given me and for your continued support.

    Formal

  • Thank you for your confidence in me and for your support throughout this project.

    Formal

Thanking your own manager is awkward because both of you know the power dynamic is in the room. The way to strip the awkwardness out is to make the thanks retrospective and specific: something already decided, already done, with nothing pending.

Thanking someone for a completed act reads as gratitude. Thanking them for their qualities reads as positioning. "Thank you for pushing that promotion through" is safe and warm; "thank you for being an inspiring leader" is not, no matter how sincerely it is meant.

Three things worth getting right

  • Thank them for a specific decision that is already made, not for who they are.
  • Send it when nothing is pending — not during review season or a pay round.
  • Keep it short. A long thank you to a manager starts to read as something else.

Common questions

Will a thank you card to my boss look like I am currying favour?

Not if it points at something already finished and asks for nothing. Timing does most of the work: a card sent the week after a difficult project lands very differently from one sent the week before promotions are announced.

What if you are leaving and want to thank them?

Then you have the most credible version available, because you have nothing left to gain. Say what you learned and what you are taking with you. Those are the notes managers keep.

One card, signed by everyone

You have the words. Card Event collects everyone else in one link, with photos, video and voice notes, and no app or account for the people signing.

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Writing to someone else?

All card wording guides — lines for your boss and everyone else