Gratitude and Leadership
Dec 12, 2022
“Gratefulness for what is there is one of the most powerful tools for creating what is not yet there. What does gratefulness mean? It means you appreciate what is. You value, you give attention to, you honor whatever is here at this moment.”
― Eckhart Tolle
What does gratitude have to do with leadership? Think about it. Have you ever worked for a boss that wasn’t grateful for your contributions you made to your company? How did that make you feel?
Studies have shown that companies that “excel at employee recognition” are 12 times more likely to enjoy strong business results. Leaders who are grateful for and acknowledge employee contributions create a culture of gratefulness that trickles down through the whole organization.
Inc.’s Geoffrey James wrote “If you’re not exercising this emotional muscle, you’re probably setting yourself up for failure. I’m utterly convinced that the key to lifelong success is the regular exercise of a single emotional muscle: gratitude.” Research from the Harvard Business Review draws the same conclusions: appreciation matters.
While googling articles on gratitude, here are a few of the many benefits that I found about having an attitude of gratitude:
-
Improves physiological and emotional health
-
Opens the door to more relationships AND creates trust in relationships
-
Improves self-esteem and increases mental strength
-
Reduces pessimism and aggression
Try being grumpy and grateful at the same time. Personally, I have found that being grateful, even during hard times, makes those hard times “seem” easier to travel through.
This suggestion came from an article in Forbes. “A five-minute a day gratitude journal can increase your long-term well-being by more than 10 percent. That’s the same impact as doubling your income!” WOW!
Sometimes, it is just the simple things. Last Thursday, when I looked at my weather app and it said 31 degrees, I was instantly grateful for fleece-lined tights. It's cold when I walk Truffle at 6:00 am. As I watched my neighbor scrape the frost off of his windshield, I was grateful for my garage!
I'm grateful for my faith, family and my home. I love what I do and I appreciate my life bigtime.
Being grateful not only benefits me, but it has a positive influence on those around me. AND leadership is influence.
How about you? I hope you take some time today to list those things that you are grateful for.
Gratefully typed,
Jan
Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
For a friend to subscribe, here is the link
https://jan-mcdonald-llc.