{"id":9260,"date":"2019-11-21T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/?p=9260"},"modified":"2020-01-17T20:41:46","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T20:41:46","slug":"gratitude-essential-leadership-skill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/gratitude-essential-leadership-skill\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Gratitude is an Essential Leadership Skill"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Gratitude is a powerful \u2013 yet often underappreciated and underutilized \u2013 leadership skill that can transform your organization.<\/p>\n<p>A number of studies over the years have linked gratitude to happiness, improved health, resiliency, stronger relationships and heightened productivity \u2013 even better sleep. So when you cultivate a thankful culture within your organization, you\u2019re creating an environment where your team can thrive.<\/p>\n<p>Gratitude is about appreciating the people behind your organization\u2019s success and acknowledging the contributions they make each and every day. In the midst of deadlines and board meetings, it can be difficult to take the time to stop and offer encouragement or a pat on the back. However, it is well worth the investment and will pay dividends to recognize when a team member has completed a project, overcome a major hurdle or hit a milestone.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2017 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2017\/05\/why-do-so-many-managers-avoid-giving-praise\">Harvard Business Review survey<\/a><\/strong> of more than 7,500 managers, 21% said they avoid giving negative feedback. However, even more resisted giving praise, with 37% admitting they don\u2019t provide positive reinforcement either.<\/p>\n<p>We all know feedback is essential to learn and grow in any organization, so how do you create a space where constructive, encouraging comments are the norm? Practicing gratitude within your organization allows you to build trust with the individuals on your team and with your customers as well. With that trust at the core of your relationships, honest conversations can take place with respect and an open mind.<\/p>\n<p>What this means though is that gratitude is not optional, and it can\u2019t just happen occasionally or by accident. Gratitude must be practiced intentionally and frequently so that it becomes a habit ingrained in your organization\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n<p>And that habit must start at the top. Leaders create the culture within their organizations through their words, actions and interactions. For everyone at your association to enjoy the benefits of practicing gratitude \u2013 the improved health, those stronger relationships, the increased productivity \u2013 your top tier staff must lead by example and create an atmosphere where gratitude is seen as adding value and contributing to success.<\/p>\n<p>There are a number of ways to show gratitude on a regular basis:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Encourage hand-written thank you notes by keeping blank cards stocked and available in your break room. A personalized note is still one of best ways to brighten someone\u2019s day.<\/li>\n<li>Start a Slack channel specifically for shout-outs. On the Naylor Content Team, we call this channel #brag-board and everyone is encouraged to recognize when a team member goes the extra mile.<\/li>\n<li>Offer occasional spontaneous gifts to your team in the form of an extra time off, permission to work remotely for the day, coffee and yummy baked goods, or small gift cards to their favorite local business. The key is to offer a gift the person will enjoy and appreciate most.<\/li>\n<li>Finally, don\u2019t wait for annual performance reviews to recognize team members who go above and beyond. Add a standing Good News item on your agenda for regular team meetings. Take two minutes at the beginning to praise a team member for something they\u2019ve recently accomplished, and watch how the mood of your meeting becomes more open and productive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u2019re thinking this all sounds like fluff \u2013 it\u2019s not. There is a business case for emphasizing gratitude within your association. Leaders who recognize team members with specific, timely positive feedback unlock new potential and inspire them to strive for bigger goals. This positively affects job performance and overflows into a richer customer experience. Plus, according to a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/employers\/blog\/employers-to-retain-half-of-their-employees-longer-if-bosses-showed-more-appreciation-glassdoor-survey\/\">2013 Glassdoor Employee Appreciation Survey<\/a><\/strong>, it impacts recruitment and retention efforts for your organization because motivated team members are more likely to stay longer at their organizations.<\/p>\n<p>As positive psychology expert and author of \u201cThe Happiness Advantage\u201d Shawn Achor said in his <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ted.com\/talks\/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">popular TED Talk<\/a><\/strong>: \u201cHappiness is an incredible competitive advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When gratitude comes not only from leaders but also from team members and colleagues, it fosters teamwork and cooperation and promotes empathy and compassion. Your team members are no longer just out for themselves; they instead gain a personal stake in the success of others and the team as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>Morale plays an important role within a team, and expressing gratitude is one of the fastest ways to increase morale in a real way. Everyone wants to be appreciated. Everyone wants to be recognized. Everyone wants to feel like what they do matters.<\/p>\n<p>As President John F. Kennedy said, \u201cAs we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.\u201d Choose to live and lead with gratitude every day.<\/p>\n<div class=\"box info aligncenter\"><div class=\"box-inner-block\"><i class=\"tieicon-boxicon\"><\/i>\n\t\t\tTo read more about four simple ways you can encourage gratitude within your association, visit Event Garde\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/eventgarde.com\/blog\/category\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Healthy by Association<\/strong><\/a> blog.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div><div class=\"author-info row\"><div class=\"col col-3\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.naylor.com\/associationadviser\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/Sarah-Sain-headshot-e1574457273284.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div><div class=\"col col-9\"><div class=\"author-info-content\"><h3>About The Author<\/h3>\n\t\t\tSarah Sain is director of content, member communications for Naylor Association Solutions. She can be reached at <strong><a href=\"mailto:ssain@naylor.com?subject=5 Rules for Creating Content that Cuts through the Clutter\">ssain@naylor.com<\/a><\/strong>, or follow her on Twitter at @ssain7.\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A number of studies have linked gratitude to improved health, stronger relationships and heightened productivity. Here&#8217;s how your association can encourage a work environment that thrives with thankfulness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":9274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,87,4],"tags":[114,351,1593,1594],"class_list":["post-9260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-association-leadership","category-membership","tag-association-leadership","tag-association-management","tag-gratitude","tag-thankfulness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Gratitude is an Essential Leadership Skill - Association Adviser<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A number of studies have linked gratitude to improved health, stronger relationships and heightened productivity. 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