The Incredible Gift of Gratitude by Meridith Elliott Powell
Photo by Courtney Hedger on Unsplash
Competitive, challenging, and constantly changing—that is today’s marketplace. If the last few years have taught us nothing else, it is that our lives, our health, our businesses, and our customers—things can change in a moment’s notice. To succeed, we must be hypervigilant and prepared for anything.
It is tough out there. It takes a lot of energy and focus and allows little time for rest. With the holidays, we have the opportunity to slow down, close our offices, and spend a little time with family and friends, sharing a meal and reflecting on what we are thankful for. In essence, the holidays allow us to focus on something that is good for our family, our friends, ourselves, our community, and even our business—gratitude.
When we think about gratitude, we typically think of relationships or what we are grateful for in our personal lives, but gratitude also plays a significant role in business. According to research done by Plasticity Labs, gratitude has an incredibly positive impact on leadership and business.
The impact of a culture of gratitude:
A culture of gratitude predicts higher job satisfaction for team members and leaders.
A culture of gratitude fosters a powerful sense of connection and community.
Employees who work in a culture of gratitude focus more on what is right with their job rather than what they do not like.
Employees who work in a culture of gratitude believe that their job and work environment will consistently get better and continuously improve.
Gratitude is powerful. It is good for you, your team, your business, and your community.
4 Strategies to Bring Gratitude into the Workplace
Make a List – of the things in your workplace that you are grateful for right now. What is valuable and what are you proud of? Things like your business is doing well; you made it through the last few years; you are coming together again and connecting as a team; you have retained most of your employees, etc. Make a list of what you are grateful for and take a few moments to start your day by reading it. Beginning every day by reviewing this list will ensure that you see the workday through the lens of being grateful.
Find Opportunity – make the time to be grateful and be intentional. If you want to create a culture of gratitude, then you need to find the opportunities to see the good things in your company. I work with a CEO who finds one point of gratitude every morning and one every afternoon. He leaves his office and goes to find the positives with his team and in his company. He then shares that with the entire team.
Focus on Wins – to create a culture of gratitude you need everyone focused on finding the good things in your organization and with their fellow team members. So, when you see others practicing gratitude, focus on those wins. What you as the leader focus on will expand; that is what you will get more of. To get more gratitude in your business you need to call it out, focus on it, and celebrate every act of gratitude you see.
Be Mindful – last but not least, be mindful. This takes work. I know I am frustrated by things more often than I see the positive and reflect on what I am grateful for. You need to train yourself to start to integrate gratitude into every facet of your life. You are the way you lead. By being mindful, you will create opportunities to find the good vs. the bad and reap the rewards of what a grateful culture will bring into your business and your life.
So, I am wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season. I hope it is full of wonderful and positive acts that bring all the rewards that only a culture of gratitude can bring.
Meridith Elliott Powell is a business strategist, keynote speaker, and award-winning author with expertise in business growth, sales, and leadership strategies. She was named One of the Top 15 Business Growth Experts to Watch by Currency Fair and One of the Top 20 Sales Experts To Follow by LinkedIn. Meridith’s latest book, The Confidence Plan: A Guided Journal, is now available from Sound Wisdom. This guided journal will enable you to discover your confidence, learn to trust yourself deeply, and step out boldly into a happier, more fulfilled, and more successful life.