Leadership Gratitude with a Twist!

It is the Thanksgiving Holiday in the USA. For those who think and write about leadership, it also time for the obligatory commentary about the importance of gratitude. Not to be left out I will, of course, be doing the same but I started thinking out loud about what I could say that would be different. In other words, gratitude with a twist!

So here is what I came up with. Instead of just reminding leaders WHAT they should be grateful for, I thought I would start with the WHY!

Let’s start with the WHY. Believe it or not, there is a whole body of research related to Gratitude Studies. Seriously, there are some very smart people out there with a lot of letters after their names who study this stuff! In general, here are some of the benefits of feeling and expressing gratitude:

Emotional Health – Robert Emmons at UC Davis and Michael McCullough at the University of Miami have demonstrated that individuals that consider what they are grateful for (vs irritated by) on a regular basis find that they are more optimistic and feel better about their lives. The good folks at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley find similar results in that grateful people are more compassionate and experience more positive emotions.

Physical Health – Emmons and McCullough along with the Greater Good Science Center found that grateful people exercised more, had fewer visits to the doctor, and have stronger immune systems. Psychotherapist Amy Morin who writes about the psychological aspects of business also found that grateful people sleep better. Who knew?!

Relational Health – Amy Morin went on to find that as you can imagine, grateful people have more opportunities for positive relationships and, accordingly, GGSC researchers found appreciative individuals feel less lonely.

So now that we have established the WHY, let’s consider WHAT leaders should be thankful for:

• Be thankful for your team, for it is they that both teach you and help you be successful.
• Be thankful that leadership is challenging, for challenges make you better!
• Be thankful that leadership can be learned and developed because that is what makes us ready for bigger opportunities.
• Be thankful that leadership is hard, because being able to lead effectively in this time of constant leadership “whitewater” makes you significant.

Here’s the important thing to remember, like leadership, a gratitude mindset can be a learned behavior. The researchers above agree that the best way to develop this mindset of thankfulness is to every day, focus a few moments on those people, experiences, skills, etc. that you are thankful for (vs what you do not have or think you are entitled to). Just do this every day for a week and let me know the outcome. I bet you will be surprised at the changes that result in you and the results that occur for you.  

I am grateful for the many blessings and people (often the same thing!) in my life. I am extremely appreciative, however, for those of you who read this blog and find it helpful.

If I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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