Leaders Amplify Their Leadership Through Gratitude — Do You?
Gratitude is a virtue all leaders must possess. Instilling positive company culture in an organization is an organizational shift projecting leadership skills.
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.”
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
A simple act of gratitude toward employees can be a game-changer for the company. A leader needs to create an environment in which employees feel truly appreciated. A simple “Thank you” or “You’ve done a great job” are words that instill encouragement to a worker.
Showing 🔗gratitude isn’t about platitudes anymore, it is about action.
Instilling positive workplace culture may seem like a no-brainer for most corporate leaders. According to research, almost 37 percent of managers took no heed in instilling positive reinforcement toward their employees. They feel that their job is to provide bad reports and correct them while they have the opportunity.
However, this is where they’re wrong.
Based on the research done, the survey points out that colleagues tend to emphasize more when given positive feedback.
A leader’s perspective:
Jennifer L’Estrange, Red Clover’s Managing Director says, “trust is essential. Her approach to leadership starts and ends with creating a culture of trust.” From creating policies to the way her employees are paid, or how they run team meetings, to how they do their company values — they ensure their employees are aware of it. Instilling a 🔗company culture where employees are valued shows she trusts her employees and that she is grateful to have them in her company. When she was asked about the benefits of infusing gratitude and trust into how they do their business, this was what L’Estrange had to say, “productivity is number one. By showing them that I see them, I trust them, I’m grateful for them being here and know they’ve got my back, they are the most productive workforce I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. Treating people well is the key to get them to do stuff, and the sheer creativity of the things they come up with is remarkable.”
Cultivating happiness will boost productivity and trust amongst employees and businesses.
Let us explore a few practices you need to follow as a leader and why you need to follow them today.
According to research done by Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., at the University of California, Davis discovered that an act of gratitude lowers stress and boosts effortful goal striving.
👉Be yourself, stay authentic
An act of gratitude works well when it’s authentic. For instance, if one of your employees completed a project, you can offer them more than offering them a generic “thank you.” Instead, you can say, “Thanks John for completing this project even before the deadline. I truly appreciate your efforts.”
👉Compliment your team daily if needed
Ensure you don’t sound too phony while complementing your team. Don’t be one of those leaders who blatantly says, “sure appreciate” you while going through the project reports. Remember eye contact is a bonus, make sure you look them in the eye while complimenting your team member for the work they’ve done. When your efforts seem genuine, it builds trust and makes the other person comfortable.
👉Schedule a fixed time to practice gratitude
🔗HR leaders and senior management have a lot on their plate. We all get it. Practicing gratitude might be the least they’re worried about or the last priority on their daily schedule. However, if you manage to make an effort and fix a specific time in your calendar, it becomes a priority. And not long before you will realize, this can become a habit.
👉Instill interest in the organization
This should come naturally to you, showing interest in your employees and organization is one of the greatest act of gratitude leaders can show. Take a couple of minutes and have a positive chit-chat with the team. You may not know but certain employees have just the team to depend on support. Giving a shout-out to the team won’t hurt.
👉Offer learning opportunities
According to research by ClearCompany, 76 percent of the employees look for career growth opportunities. As a leader of the organization, it is your responsibility to show them you care about their future well-being. Provide learning opportunities such as training programs or workshops or perhaps an industry conference. These are some of the company cultures every employee seeks.
👉Make sure you acknowledge your unsung heroes
Every organization has a Rockstar amongst the crowd, but you do not have to always show the spotlight on them. Make sure you give some praise of appreciation to the background singers, backing band, and the roadies too. Make sure you recognize your support columns and not only the angel-corbels sitting at a higher position.
For instance, giving constant shootouts to the freelancers by sending them goodies is one way to appreciate their efforts. Doing so makes them feel they’re a part of the organization.
You can choose to go as far as you want in discovering the act of gratefulness. But as a leader, you need to lead your organization using valor and gratitude as weapons.
