You Aren't Grateful Enough

If you are a leader, gratitude is the #1 mentality you must cultivate. In this post, I will tell you what gratitude is and why it matters.

What Gratitude Is

Gratitude is the awareness that some thing, person, or concept has value.

It's etymology is tied to the word "grace" (Saying "grace" before dinner is a way of showing "gratitude).

There are different levels of gratitude and flavors.

I could ask you if your car has value and you'd say "sure, it's worth $29,000." You weren't really thinking about it until I asked and your answer was fairly emotionless. It was also very tied to it's financial worth.

The type of gratitude to cultivate is based on

• Conscious appreciation - holding conscious awareness
• Deep satisfaction with or love for the object of gratitude
• Value based on a profound "why" -- beyond money

A different way of gratitude for a car's value might sound like this:

"This car enables me to get reliably anywhere I need to go, including my work and visiting my family. I feel comfort and safety while riding and pride of ownership. Without this car, I would have a lot more of a struggle to accomplish meet my work and connection goals and I think about this every day."

Why Gratitude Matters

For starters, gratitude has been shown in peer-reviewed studies to make you happier.

Intuitively, if you spend more time thinking of positive ideas and things, you will feel better. Wouldn't you rather spend time in gratitude than dissatisfaction, complaining about your situation or surroundings?

The more you practice gratitude, the more you will notice good things. The more you will notice how things help you, how things are always working out for you.

For leaders, gratitude is incredibly important.

Gratitude is a powerful motivator. It helps people to feel safe and valued. When they feel safe and valued, they do the following:

• Stay in their roles
• Use more creativity
• Go the extra mile for you
• Ask more questions because they're less afraid of looking dumb and they are more engaged
• They feel less threatened when you have a bad day or if you have to share constructive feedback

On the other hand, nothing kills motivation faster than a leader who isn’t grateful.

How do I know this? Because there is ALWAYS another, higher level of performance. And I have met enough leaders to know that virtually NO leader is operating at maximum gratitude and engagement. At best, I have seen leaders operating around 50% of their potential for gratitude and that is even rare.

In a future post, I will talk more about how to demonstrate and cultivate gratitude in yourself and in your team.

Want my top leadership tips? Click here to get my 8 page pdf.

Mike Lyons is an HR professional and consultant in the Austin, TX area. He can be found at TXHRGuy.com and on LinkedIn. 

References

1. "Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life"
   • Authors: Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCullough
   • Published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2003)
   • Link: Counting blessings versus burdens
2. "Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration"
   • Authors: Alex M. Wood, Jeffrey J. Froh, and Adam W.A. Geraghty
   • Published in Clinical Psychology Review (2010)
   • Link: Gratitude and well-being