For over a decade, we’ve been writing about the power of gratitude and appreciation in the workplace. It was fun for us to search “Let’s Grow Leaders” and then the words “thanksgiving,” “gratitude at work” and “appreciation” and read our own advice. We’ve had a good bit to say over the years, and we’re happy to say we’re consistent 😉

Gratitude at work matters.

These insights come from working with you and human-centered leaders like you. AND… hearing your frustrations. We’ve seen firsthand how a simple “thank you” can boost morale, strengthen a team, and create a culture where people feel seen and valued. When people feel seen, they feel safe. Safety leads to better engagement and contribution.

We also see the damage when leaders screw this up.

So, as Thanksgiving approaches in the United States, let’s get a bit meta here, and share some of our “gratitude at work” highlights.

Why Gratitude at Work Matters: More Than Just Saying Thanks

Gratitude isn’t just about being polite or sprinkling around a few “thank yous” like confetti. It’s about building an atmosphere where people feel connected and appreciated for their contributions. When people feel seen, they’re more motivated, engaged, and willing to help.

See True Gratitude: More than Pleasantries or Recognition

In this popular Asking for a Friend, Kerry Wekelo and I explore practical approaches for cultivating a culture of gratitude at work.

Encouraging Peer Recognition: Make It Everyone’s Job

One of the best ways to build a culture of gratitude is to help the team celebrate.

Let’s start with why peer recognition is so important.

1. You can catch more good as it’s happening.

You get more of what you encourage and celebrate and less of what you ignore. There’s likely a lot of good going on that you don’t see firsthand. The celebration will be more meaningful because it can be more specific and timely.

2. It creates a cycle of collaboration and celebration.

When people feel appreciated and valued, they’re more likely to go the extra mile to help their teammates.  When you make it easy for team members to recognize that extra mile, you’ve created a virtuous cycle of collaboration and celebration.

3. Peer recognition builds good habits and grows leaders

And third, you’re growing leaders. When you set the expectation that appreciation is a team sport, you’re equipping your team with valuable habits they can transfer to future leadership roles.

For specific ideas for better team recognition check out “Creative Peer Recognition: How to Get Better at Team Appreciation”.

Make Gratitude a Daily Habit: Building a System for Appreciation

When leaders tell us they struggle with gratitude, “After all, why should I have to say thank you for someone doing their job,” (see “How to Be Great at Recognition, Even If It’s Not in Your DNA”)  we encourage them to turn recognition and appreciation into a task.

Make a plan. Schedule it. Track it.

To get more ideas on how to keep appreciation flowing, read “How to Make Better Employee Recognition a Daily Habit”.

Avoiding the “Empty Thank You”: Get Specific

If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of a vague “great job,” you know it doesn’t do much. Your can team can tell when your gratitude at work is real =, or when you’re just going through the motions. The key is to make your thanks specific, relevent and meaningful.

Instead of saying, “Good work,” try, “I appreciate how you took the time to walk the new team member through the process. That helped them get up to speed quickly. And as a result, we saved a week on this project.”

This Thanksgiving, aim to be intentional with your words. What did they do? How did it make a difference? Why does it matter?

Check out “Before You Forget: Stop and Do This Now” for more on why specific, meaningful appreciation is so important.

Taking Time for Yourself: Be Grateful for Your Journey

Finally, don’t forget to turn some of that gratitude inward. As you’re appreciating others, take a moment to reflect on your work and growth. What are you proud of? What have you learned this year? Maybe even jot down a few things you’re grateful for in your career. Being kind to yourself is just as important as recognizing others.

See Also: What Do You Like Most About Your Job?

And if, this year has been tough, take a moment to appreciate yourself for making it through. You’ve shown up. Done the work. And, made it to this moment. That’s something to be thankful for.

A Simple Thanksgiving Challenge: Share the Gratitude

To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, try a quick challenge: ask your team to share one thing they’re grateful for about someone they work with. It could be about their approach, a specific action, or how they bring a little joy to the team. The goal is to create a ripple of appreciation that extends beyond the holiday.

If you have a deck of our SynergyStack™ Team Development Cards, you can use the collaboration habits as prompts for thanksgiving and celebration. Invite each team member to share one habit they really appreciate about each team member.

A Decade of Building Better Teams Through Gratitude

Genuine appreciation makes a difference. It’s not just about making people feel good—it’s about creating a culture where people feel seen, respected, and motivated to give their best. This Thanksgiving, take a moment to express gratitude for the people who make your work life richer. It’s a small act that can have a big impact.

Thank you for being on his journey with us, and for making gratitude a core part of your work. Here’s to more years of building strong, appreciative, human-centered teams together.

The post Thanksgiving At Work: Creating a Culture of Gratitude on Your Team appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Let’s talk about getting more leadership better visibility and recognition for YOU – and YOUR TEAM’s – work.

Today’s #AskingForaFriend came in from our Micro-Learning Lab.

“I’ve always had trouble “selling” my (or our) job to higher management. I thought the work should speak for itself. However, in a very busy environment, the message may get lost. How do I ensure that management knows of our achievements and realizes how much work the team does?“

Three Ways to Position Yourself for Better Exposure

1. Position Your Team Strategically for Better Leadership Visibility

In order to achieve better leadership visibility, set clear and measurable MITs (Most Important Things) that align with the bigger picture. If you need help creating clarity, this article is a great place to start. Or, drop us a note. We’d love to chat.

By setting specific MITs for your team, you show the impact of your work. And, track progress toward bigger organizational goals.

Provide regular updates on your team’s progress. You might even use our 5×5 communication technique to expand leadership visibility to your work.

This can help build trust and credibility, and demonstrate the value your team brings. Additionally, by regularly reviewing and adjusting your goals as circumstances change, you ensure your team REMAINS aligned with strategic objectives,

2. Build Cross-Functional Relationships with Other Departments

Help your team build deeper, collaborative relationships with other departments.

When people in other departments talk positively about your team, you get better leadership visibility without saying a word. Great work never happens in a vacuum. And some of the best recognition comes from peers.

By collaborating effectively with other departments, you can also gain a better understanding of the organization’s overall goals and priorities. This helps better align your work with strategic priorities (see above). Which, in turn, helps gain support from senior leadership, Think of this as the leadership visibility snowball effect.

Furthermore, when YOU help OTHER DEPARTMENTS gain visibility and recognition, you pave the way for future collaboration. By working together and sharing successes, you can create a positive feedback loop that benefits everyone involved.

3. Invite Senior Leadership to Meetings

For more leadership visibility, invite senior leadership to a meeting and strategically share your work. It’s not bragging, it’s useful. Just be sure you’re ready to nail it. Not all executive exposure is good exposure. See Also: 6 Reasons to Give Your Team Better Executive Exposure.

A few tips to keep in mind (and more tips here on presenting to executives)

• Be transparent and authentic in your communication.
• Let them know the intent of the invite, and topics to discuss.
• Provide any relevant background or context.
• Be an excellent steward of time.
• Avoid overselling or exaggerating your accomplishments.
• Focus on presenting an accurate and honest picture of your team’s work and progress.
• Emphasize your commitment to working collaboratively towards shared goals.
• Use data to back up your claims and present them in a meaningful and compelling way.

Final Tip

When presenting your team’s work to senior leadership, be sure to emphasize the importance of collaboration and teamwork. Highlight the contributions of individual team members. Demonstrate how their skills and expertise complement each other to achieve shared goals. This helps demonstrate your leadership skills and your ability to build and manage high-performing teams. Additionally, by emphasizing collaboration and teamwork, you reinforce your commitment to a culture of shared ownership and responsibility.

And psst…Dear Leader…if you want to bring human-centered practical leadership training to your teams, visit our Team Accelerator page. Learn about our manager-driven team development program to sustain company-wide change, from the inside out.

And now, your turn. How do you help your team’s performance stand out so it’s impossible to ignore? How do you ensure that they get the attention they deserve? Leadership visibility does more than improve morale, it also leads to better creativity, innovation, and courage.

This article will also help.

How to Help Your Team Reflect on Their Accomplishments

The post Leadership Visibility: How to Ensure Your Team Gets the Attention They Deserve appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

True gratitude begins with deep humility. It changes us.

True gratitude transforms our relationships. It changes the game.

Courtesies Aren’t Gratitude

And yet many leaders try to check the gratitude box with a “Thanks-for-passing-the-gravy” kind of gratitude.

• …thanks for this report
• …thanks for the update
• …thanks for coming to the meeting
• …thanks for returning my call

Those courtesies are important. We need them. But they aren’t gratitude.

Recognition Isn’t Gratitude

Many organizations also do a pretty good job with formal recognition — taking time to determine who deserves the plaque, the award, and a celebration. These ceremonies may come from a place of deep gratitude, but not necessarily. Often, they are based on numbers, rankings, or “it’s that time of year.” You won’t find gratitude in a spreadsheet or calendar.

True gratitude involves a deeper pause of thanksgiving. But many leaders, at every level of organizations, miss this vital pause.

Gratitude is missing when…

• an executive hears a presentation and immediately responds with questions, concerns, critiques and challenges, without a pause to consider the depth and breadth of work entailed, the long hours, and the creative thinking.
• a middle manager, frustrated in his current role, overlooks his long career of exciting challenges and developmental experiences.
• the team leader acknowledges the team’s steady progress, but fails to understand the deep personal sacrifices of her team.
• a team member resents the promotion of a coworker, and overlooks all the ways he has grown himself in the past year.

Thanks and recognition are about the receiver. As leaders, it is our job to say “thank you” and recognize good work.

But true gratitude is also about the giver. Genuine gratitude transforms your leadership.

An Inexhaustible Source of Leadership Gratitude

One source of gratitude that never runs dry is the recognition of choice.

People don’t have to follow you, don’t have to show up, and don’t have to bring their creativity or initiative.

They choose to.

Even your direct reports don’t have to follow your leadership. Every day people make a choice to be a part of your team. To contribute and engage. Or not. But it’s always their choice.

“Wait a minute,” you might say, “if they don’t do their job we can fire them.”

You’re right of course, but that’s their choice. True gratitude begins when you realize that everyone’s a volunteer. They choose:

• If they will be a part of your team.
• How they will show up.
• Whether to participate fully or phone it in.
• The level of effort they will give.
• How well they will perform their role.

When you embrace this fundamental truth – that everyone is a volunteer – it will change your leadership forever. Every action from every person on your team becomes a gift.

“Everyone is a Volunteer” David shares from a keynote stage

Every ounce of energy they spend on a project is a gift. Your leadership work shifts from force to invitation, from control to influence, from fear to gratitude. You won’t lead to wring out the worst, but to bring out the best.

Practical Ways to Practice True Gratitude

Cultivating gratitude will open daily opportunities to communicate your encouragement and genuinely thank people for their choices and contributions. Here are three suggestions to make the most of these moments.

1) Focus on the Person, Process, and Outcomes

There’s a big difference between gratitude for what a person does and the person themselves. Acknowledge the person, the process, and the outcome.

Person: Sometimes a simple, straightforward, “I appreciate you” are the most powerful words you can say.

Process: “I am so grateful for how you’re approaching this problem. I see how diligently you’re working.” It’s not always about the outcome.

If you’re familiar with how to Respond with Regard to fuel innovation and ideas, you’ll recognize the first step as gratitude for their process: “Thank you for thinking about how we can improve.”

Outcome: “You did it! I am so grateful for what you’ve accomplished here.” In our rush to the next goal, it’s easy to forget gratitude for the outcomes. Taking time to look people in the eye or send a hand-written note to communicate your gratitude will cement that achievement for you and your people.

2) Be Specific and What and Why

Even leaders who are good about expressing gratitude often focus on what they’re grateful for. But that’s only half of the story.

Karin shares ways to make recognition an everyday habit.

What they did, or are doing, is important. And, you’ll increase the value of your gratitude when you finish the story by sharing why it matters.

For example, “I’m grateful for the extra time you put in with that customer, or solving that patient’s complaint or resolving that our client’s issue. I saw the extra work and the customer called me and told me what a difference that made to them. Or the patient noted in her comments after she checked out how meaningful that was to her and her family and how much she appreciated it.”

3) Mix Up Silence and Growth

There are times when it makes sense to start a coaching conversation with gratitude.

For example, if someone’s bringing some unorthodox solutions that don’t make immediate sense to you, you can start with: “I am grateful for the work you’ve put in on this project and the creative solutions you’ve uncovered. And, I’d like to explore how you see these fitting into our strategic priorities.”

In the ensuing conversation, you might get insights into new creative approaches, or the team member might learn more about what matters most and how they can contribute.

But you want to be careful about always following up gratitude with growth opportunities. Too many “I’m grateful, and…” conversations will undermine your gratitude and make people feel like nothing they do is ever good enough.

Sometimes gratitude followed by silence is the most effective.

And so, we want to conclude with gratitude of our own.

We are grateful for you and your commitment to human-centered leadership. We see you try, learn, get up, and try again.

And with your consistent effort, you make a difference. To your people, to your community, and to the world.

Thank you.

And Dear Leader…if work without human-centered practical leadership training is getting a bit too edgy for your liking – or your strategies just aren’t working like you need them to – visit our Live (online or hybrid) Leadership Training page to learn how to build and sustain company-wide change.

You Might Also Enjoy:

• How to Make Better, Frequent Employee Recognition a Daily Habit
• Gratitude at Work: How to Cultivate a Grateful Culture (with video)
• Encouragement that Gets Results
• How to Respond To Employee’s Wacky Ideas (Tool & Video)

The post True Gratitude – More Than Pleasantries or Recognition appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

You care about your team and the work they’re doing. They’re working hard. And if they’re like so many teams we work with, they yearn for better recognition. They want to know their work matters and that you (and your boss) appreciate all they do.

So how do you help your team’s performance stand out? How do you ensure that they not only get the recognition they crave, but their performance shines so strong it’s difficult to ignore? Better recognition does more than improve morale, it leads to better creativity, innovation, and courage.

For Better Recognition: Start By Differentiating Your Team’s Performance and then Bring on the Spotlight

1. Focus their efforts on what matters most
2. Encourage them to fix something broken
3. Help them build deeper cross-functional relationships
4. Keep them growing
5. Encourage executive visits and skip level meetings
6. Take them on field trips (physical or virtual) for exposure and perspective
7. Help them become leader teachers

Differentiate Performance

1. Focus their efforts on what matters most

Have you ever noticed it’s not necessarily the times in your career that you worked the longest or hardest that led to better recognition? Sure sometimes there’s a correlation, but chances are it was more a matter of finding that sweet spot where your skills and talents matched a strategic business need. And, strategically spending your time doing what mattered most.

If your team has thirty-seven priorities on their plates, they can’t exceed expectations on all of them. Talk to your manager, know what matters most, and be sure you help your team nail that.

To help your team’s performance stand out for better recognition, be sure they’re focused on the right strategic priorities.

An easy way to do this is simply to ask your manager.

• “What’s the most important thing my team needs to accomplish to really impact the business this year?”
• “Imagine we’re sitting here this time next year, and you’re blown away by our team’s performance… what would we have accomplished?”
• “I know all of these metrics matter, but which matters the most? and why?”

2. Encourage them to fix something broken

What’s not working that’s driving everyone crazy? What process could be made more efficient? What can your team do to improve the customer experience (not just once) but systematically? How can your team make work more efficient not just for them but for their peers as well? Help them to find something broken and fix it.

3. Help them build deeper cross-functional relationships

Great work never happens in a vacuum. And some of the best recognition comes from peers.

Help your team invest deeply in developing peer relationships in other departments AND with one another. Help them be better recognition givers.

Nothing frustrates senior managers more than dysfunctional turf wars that distract people from doing the right thing for the business and for your customers. Your competition is not the department down the hall, it’s mediocrity.

4. Keep them growing

Some people have 10 years of experience and other folks have 1 year of experience 10 times. Even if your team is not changing roles, be sure they’re constantly learning and growing. Have a clear development plan that stretches them and helps them contribute more to the business each year.

One of the best ways to recognize your team is to continue to invest in their growth. And your team will stand out

And Then, Give Your Team an Opportunity to Shine

Once you’ve mastered the first vital element for better recognition, ensuring there’s something important to celebrate, the next step is giving them opportunities to shine.

5. Encourage executive visits and skip level meetings

When your team has something to celebrate, be proactive in including your manager, other executives, and peers in the conversation.

“Hey, we’d love to show you what we’ve been doing this quarter. Can you join us for an in-person, or virtual ops review?”  If executive visits or skip-level meetings aren’t a natural part of your culture, this guide executive visit guide is a great place to start. 

6. Take your team on physical or virtual field trips for additional exposure and perspective

Of course, you don’t need to wait for people to come to you for better recognition. You can take your show on the physical or virtual road. Set up a time for your team to meet with other teams and departments to share what they’re doing and to gather feedback to help strengthen collaboration.

7. Help your leaders become “leader teachers”

One of the best forms of recognition is to be asked to teach what you know to others.

Give your managers an opportunity to share their expertise with members of their own team and others in the organization. We do this in our long-term leadership development programs all the time through challenger groups and other techniques (learn more here).

Our clients tell us that’s such an important part of sustainable culture change.

You get more of what you encourage and celebrate and less of what you ignore. Take time for deliberate, deeper, and better recognition by giving your team opportunities to make a bigger impact, showcase their contributions, and build deeper relationships along the way.

How to Give Your Team Better Executive Exposure

How to Prepare Your Successor For Success

Your turn. What are your best practices for better recognition?

The post How to Help Your Team’s Performance Stand Out For Better Recognition appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

The post How Your Employee Recognition Program Can Destroy Morale appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

We had just finished talking about ways to be great at recognition as part of a Winning Well leadership development program with a fast-growing company.  One of the senior leaders, “Joe” who happened to be sitting in on the session so he could reinforce the learning, took me aside:

“Karin, I’m missing that gene.”

“Which gene?” I asked.

“That ‘be great at recognition’ gene,” he sighed.

I’m listening to what my people are saying here today, and clearly, they aren’t getting enough recognition from me. But, I’ll be honest. It just doesn’t come naturally for me. I guess I’m just old school. I mean, when I was growing up in this business, no one talked about recognition. You just did your job the very best you could. Making a great product, growing the business, and delighting clients was its own reward. I’d like to get better, but it’s hard.

4 Ways to Be Better at Recognition (Even if It’s Not in Your DNA)

If you’ve ever felt like Joe, you’re in good company. We hear this from senior leaders we work with quite frequently. Here’s what we’ve seen work best to compensate for that “missing gene.”

1. Change Your Frame: Learn the Science Beneath the ROI

Well done recognition does far more than make employees feel good and increase your employee engagement survey results. Because it draws an employee’s attention to their strengths and to what’s working, positive feedback actually helps them build new neural pathways that lead to higher functioning in that area.

According to brain science, people grow far more neurons and synaptic connections where they already have the most neurons and synaptic connections. In other words, each brain grows most where it’s already strongest. As Joseph LeDoux, a professor of neuroscience at New York University memorably described it, “Added connections are therefore more like new little buds on a branch rather than new branches.” Through this lens, learning looks a lot like building, little by little on the unique patterns that are already within you. Which means learning has to start by finding and understanding those patterns.” – Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall, The Feedback Fallacy, Harvard Business Review 2019

When you can reframe recognition as a way to help your team get smarter, faster re-cognition, it’s easier to see the ROI and the effort may feel more vital.

2. Schedule Small Chunks of Time For Informal Recognition

Karin, did you just suggest I formalize informal recognition? Well, yes. I did.

If it doesn’t come naturally to you, your best bet to be great at recognition is to turn it into a task. For example, if you schedule a task on Thursday that you’re going to pick up the phone or walk into people’s offices and thank them for something specific, meaningful and timely, and you KNOW that task is coming up. You’re going to be more likely on the lookout for examples to complete that task.

3.  Measure It

Giving yourself a micro-goal can make all the difference. One way to do this is to put three pennies in your pocket. As you walk around during the day, every time you notice (and recognize) something positive that you want more of, you move the penny to the other pocket. At the end of the day is to have all the pennies moved over to the opposite pocket.

After you build the habit, what was once felt unnatural should come more naturally.

4. Ask Others to help

It’s likely that someone on your team carries this gene, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. Designate someone to help you think of ways to do creative recognition.

Or even more simply, ask your direct reports to let you know when they see something great going on, or to nominate a peer. This doesn’t have to be a big formal process or program. It can be as simple as saying, “I’d like to learn more about the great work and collaboration that is happening around here. I’d like each of you to drop me an email each week letting me know about one great thing that you’ve experienced.”

Then you have a nice list to choose from to reach out and say a quick “thank you” to the person they mentioned. Side benefit—your inbox will be filled with good news. Why wouldn’t you want more of that? 😉

Your turn.

What advice would you add for someone missing the “How to Be Great at Recognition” Gene?

See Also 8 Reasons Recognition Programs Fail (CEO Magazine)

The post How to Be Great at Recognition (Even if It’s Not in Your DNA) appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Thanks to Joy and Tom Guthrie of Vizwerx Group for the great pic and to all our contributors!

The December Frontline Festival will be your Best of 2019. Do you have a best practice to share? Have you written a blog post, recorded a podcast or video that received a lot of traction? We would love to have you join us. Send us your submissions here!

Now, on to recognition and appreciation. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or links to your favorite articles. What would you add?

Appreciate the Value of Recognition

Nate Regier of Next Element Consulting gives us Two Mistakes that Will Kill Your Employee Recognition Program.  How can it be that even among organizations that are making the effort and have good intentions, less than half of their employees are satisfied? These two mistakes can kill even the best-intentioned recognition efforts. Follow Nate.

Chip Bell of Chip Bell Group gives us If Herzberg Ran Affinity Programs. We think we know about how to recognize and affirm great service performance until we look at it through the eyes of a motivation research pioneer and expert, Fredrick Herzberg. Follow Chip.

Julie Winkle Giulioni of DesignArounds gives us Employee Recognition – The KISS Method. Recognition just might be the most leverageable practice leaders can engage in to drive individual and organizational results. It doesn’t have to cost anything except a little honest attention to those around you. This month, you can read the post or watch the microlearning video on the topic produced by my friends at AthenaOnline. (link expires 12-1-19) Follow Julie.

Robyn McLeod of Thoughtful Leaders Blog presents Why Your Cookie-Cutter Approach to Recognition is Not Working where she shares that as a leader and manager, it is your job to know what each of your team members needs to feel valued and acknowledged. Finding out what motivates them and fuels their energy for the work can only happen if you ask. Follow Robyn.

John Hunter of Curious Cat Management Improvement provides Take Advantage of the Strengths Each Person Brings to Work. Managers should recognize the strengths each person brings and appreciate how to take advantage of those strengths. That also is a way to show people you care about them and have taken an interest in them. Doing this greatly improves the appreciation people have for their job – being able to do what you do well is rewarding.  Follow John.

Jesse Lyn Stoner of Seapoint Center for Collaborative Leadership shares Why Nobody Noticed You Changed and Five Things You Can Do to Make Change Stick. Are you not getting the recognition and appreciation you deserve? Perhaps you’ve changed and nobody acknowledges it? Here’s what you can do about it. Follow Jesse.

Recognize the Value of Appreciation

S. Chris Edmonds of Driving Results through Culture gives us a Culture Leadership Charge Video: The Leader’s Most Powerful Tool. The leader’s most powerful tool boils down to two compelling words: “Thank you.”  The research found that people that practice gratitude enjoy significant physical, psychological, and social benefits. Which one of your team members can you thank today? Follow Chris.

Maria Tanski of Patriot Software provides 8 Out-of-the-Box Ideas for Employee Recognition and Appreciation. If you want to retain top-notch talent, you need to show employees that you appreciate their hard work. These unique recognition and appreciation ideas will give you a fun way to show employees that you care.  Follow Maria.

Shelley Row of Shelley Row Associates provides Five Ways to Reward Employees – It’s Not about the Money.  There is strong research that supports the notion that we have a “common neural currency” for rewards. Here are five ways you can harness the reward network in the brain for good feelings and even better performance.  Follow Shelley.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership gives us The Most Potent Reward.  Praise is your power tool. It’s the way you encourage people to try something new or to keep doing something good. Here are four rules for using this powerful reward. Follow Wally.

David Grossman of The Grossman Group shared Let’s Demonstrate We Value Our People, and Pay Them Appropriately. In this open letter to the public relations industry I care deeply about, I lay out my concerns (and potential solutions) when it comes to developing and appreciating our qualified employees in PR and communications related industries. My worry is that there’s an unintentional system in place that prevents our best employees in communications from both knowing and showing their value. We can and need to do better. Follow David.

Sean Glaze of Great Results Teambuilding asks How Do You Create Buy-In and Get People to Go All-In on Any Team? This question is one of the great challenges of teammates who care or team leaders who are struggling to inspire commitment.  Follow Sean.

BEST OF 2019

Won’t you join us for our BEST OF 2019? Share your best writing, videos, or podcasts from the year. New contributors welcome! Submit your “best of” here!

The post Recognition and Appreciation: A Frontline Festival appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

WHY GRATITUDE IS IMPORTANT

Skip Prichard of Leadership Insights  shares three steps to boost your thanksgiving quotient and 17 different benefits for a spirit of gratitude. Gratitude is one of the best ways to increase your success in the coming year. Follow Skip.

Tanveer Naseer of Tanveer Naseer Leadership gives us a look at how expressing gratitude can help leaders bring out the best in those they lead and drive their organizations to succeed. Follow Tanveer.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING GRATEFUL FOR PEOPLE

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” A.A. Milne

John Hunter of Curious Cat Management Improvement is thankful for the insight provided by his father on how to provide value through your work.  He says, “It seems to me we often neglect to appreciate how important it is for people to take pride in their work.  He gave me an early appreciation that while there are many factors influencing our decisions as we proceed through our careers, it is critical to do work that you are proud of.” Follow John.

Rachel Blakely of Patriot Software reminds us that during the holiday season and beyond, it’s important to step back and think about what you’re grateful for in your business. This year, let your customers know you’re thankful for them with these five tips.  Follow Rachel.

Shelley Row of Shelley Row Associates recounts when a plane full of passengers erupted in appreciative applause.  Follow Shelley

Paula Kiger of Big Green Pen mentions thanks for the teachers in our lives, including people who “taught” us outside the classroom. They appreciate hearing our expressions of gratitude, even if quite a bit of time has elapsed. This is a note she wrote to a teacher decades after a meaningful incident. Follow Paula.

Chery Gegelman of Simply Understanding shares five reasons thankfulness is more than child’s play. Follow Chery.

APPROACHES FOR BEING MORE GRATEFUL

“This a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” Maya Angelou

According to Sean Glaze of Great Results Teambuilding, a constant focus on what is missing, what needs to get better, where the flaws are, can turn aspirations into frustrations. As a coach,  manager, principal, or leader in any arena, rather than seeing the hole, we should step back more often to appreciate the doughnut. We should find things to be grateful for. In just five minutes over seven days, you can completely change your focus and impact. Follow Sean.

According to Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership, Gratitude is good for you, but an “attitude of gratitude is not enough. You get maximum benefits if you spread it around.  Follow Wally.

In the post, Making Thanksgiving a Leadership Skill, Robyn McLeod of Thoughtful Leaders Blog shares that we can reap greater benefits by making “giving thanks” a year-round leadership practice.  Follow Robyn.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” William Arthur Ward

David Grossman of The Grossman Group shares his Thanksgiving tradition: Grandma Elsie’s Chiffon Pie– and celebrates her generous spirit every holiday season. Follow David.

Chip Bell of Chip Bell Group is grateful for PASSION!! Without it, life would become plain vanilla, greatness would become mediocrity, and commitment would become complacency. In the words of English novelist E.M. Forster, “One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.” Follow Chip.

According to Michelle Cubas, CPCC, ACC, of Positive Potentials, LLC,  gratitude is a state of mind when you allow it to be. Gratitude is not a natural state. Consider two toddlers in the same room with a fistful of goodies. Often, they will want what the other one has too! This description derives from a selfish desire for survival that is hard-wired into us. We must make a choice for a different state of mind.  Follow Michelle.

“The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” William James

Ken Downer of Rapid Start Leadership shares: An attitude of gratitude can provide lots of benefits, like increased happiness, improved health, and even a better night’s sleep. Here are eight things you can do today to make life better, both for you, and those around you, by focusing on what you have, instead of what you don’t. Follow Ken

Beth Beutler of H.O.P.E. Unlimited suggests that a good mindset about giving/receiving revolves around forgetting what you give and remembering what you receive.  Follow Beth.

WHAT TO DO WHEN IT’S HARD

Jesse Stoner of Seapoint Center for Collaborative Leadership reminds us that the holiday season can be difficult for many people, but it’s still possible to feel joy and gratitude in stressful times… which is good for your physical and mental health. She gives us three steps to access gratitude when you’re feeling stressed. Follow Jesse.

Eileen McDargh of The Energizer asks, “Do you ever have a moment when the world feels upside down and you are stressed or sick?” Eileen shares how the little things in life can give us pleasure even when we’re under the weather!  Follow Eileen.

Chris Edmonds of Driving Results through Culture reminds us that while civility and respect is not demonstrated daily in many of our homes, neighborhoods, or workplaces, now is the time to begin being thankful and kind in every interaction. The choice is ours.  Follow Chris.

How about you? What are you most thankful for? How do you keep a grateful approach?

The post Gratitude and Appreciation: A November Frontline Festival appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Winning Well Connection

Scott has a special place in our hearts as he’s been an incredible encourager and friend both personally and professionally–and was actually on our first date (unbeknownst to him at the time). Scott is the founder of Together We Can Change the World with whom we’re on tour with during our second half of the Asia trip. TWCCTW is also our partner for our Winning Wells initiative bringing clean water wells to Cambodia.

When doing research for Celebrate! Lessons Learned from the World’s Most Admired Organizations, we asked our survey respondents: “What is essential in making celebration work in any organization?” The top for answers were: inclusivity, gratitude, play, and surprise.

Inclusivity – Making sure that everyone feels a part of the team. Everyone wants to feel a sense of belonging … it’s giving everyone a voice and the feeling that their voice matters.

Gratitude – A grateful feeling, emotion, or attitude of acknowledgment of the life we have and those that we share our life with. It’s the ability to count our blessings even when we’re feeling the pressure of daily responsibilities. It’s being thankful and showing appreciation for those that make a difference in our lives.

Play – Living in the present moment. It’s the ability to let go of anger, resentment, and emotions from the past and truly bring our best self to the task at hand. Being in this state of flow will allow humor, spontaneity, fun, and play to flourish in the present moment. How much fun is that?

Surprise – Honoring people through the element of the unexpected – surprising them with what is highest on their joy list. It’s catching people doing the right things and recognizing them on the spot. The reason celebration fails in most organizations today is that it becomes stale. There is a lack of creativity or conscious thought that is needed to make a celebration special. By learning more about what motivates employees and what brings them great joy, we can creatively add the element of surprise to their lives, and what a nice surprise that is!

Winning Well Reflection

In Winning Well we encourage recognition and celebration – after all, you get more of what you encourage and celebrate. But what really stands out about Scott’s approach to celebration is that it is more than an isolated response to something that’s happened. For Scott, celebration is a way of life. All of us can do with more appreciation of the good in our lives, our teams, and our work. You can follow up and incorporate more celebration into your life and work because Scott is graciously providing two free e-books to our readers.

2021 Updates on Celebration During a Pandemic

Karin was delighted to host Scott Friedman and Debra Fine on a special pandemic edition of Asking For a Friend.

Click on the images to download the books. Thank you Scott!

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The post 4 Ways to Bring More Celebration to Your Organization (Scott Friedman) appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Yesterday a high-potential, high-performing VP called:

Karin, the thing is, I know I’ve been accomplishing a lot. And I shouldn’t need this. But, I just wish one of the big guys would just say “thank you.” HR and my peers have told me “Oh, if you haven’t heard anything, you can be sure you’re doing just fine. if you’re screwing up, that will be perfectly clear. No news is good news. But. The truth is, I’m so hungry for a simple “thank you,” or a nod that I’m on the right track. Is that bad?

Of course not, I replied. “It means you’re human.”

Yes, even the guys getting paid “the big bucks” need to hear that they matter and are making a difference.

If they are, and you’re in a position to tell them– please do. And if they’re not, please tell them why. Silence does nothing to advance the game.

And for everyone else. If an exec being given increased responsibility and a healthy paycheck feels this way, imagine what the lack of meaningful feedback and recognition feels like at the front line.

When it comes to showing appreciation, it’s hard to over do recognition – if it’s done well and is spoken from the heart.

And so this Valentine’s Day we bring you…

The post Show Me the Love: Recognition that Makes a Difference (with video) appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.