I’ve always thought in an indirect control method game there should be an earnable resource that you can spend to give hearthlings that you favor or you see do a good job a commendation that provides a small buff or better yet a buff they give to people near them. Regardless they love it because you’re recognizing them.
A few different kinds would be cool so you could give them rewards for different actions, almost like Xcom’s medals but perhaps each is a bit generic so its up to the player to denote a meaning if any the different rewards are given for.