Gratitude for Leaders: How to Win the Gratitude Battle
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” Willie Nelson
Ungrateful people are:
- Easily discouraged. Ingratitude creates constant disappointment. “What’s the use.”
- Resentful of the benefits or advantages others enjoy. Unthankfulness doesn’t enjoy the success of others.
- Entitled. Ungratefulness hates seeing others advantaged but expects advantage for itself.
- Self-obsessed. Ingratitude has little room for others because the world revolves around its own troubles, disappointments, and resentments.
- Thin skinned.
- Clinging to past offenses. Ungratefulness is still talking about the offenses of 1999.
- Fault finding and demanding. Nothing’s ever good enough for an ingrate.
Why choose ungratefulness:
You might say you’re unthankful because life is miserable.
Doesn’t it seem stupid to multiply misery by topping it off with a bitter dollop of ingratitude.
Gratitude for leaders:
Grateful leaders notice and acknowledge benefit or advantage.
- Leadership is about noticing. Ungrateful leaders have discouraged teams.
- Gratitude requires expression. Unexpressed gratitude is ungratefulness.
- Thankfulness appreciates benefit or advantage. Imagine walking around noticing the good stuff.
The above definition is harvested from the following sources.
- Appreciative of benefits received.
- Warmly or deeply appreciative of benefits received.
- Feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness.
- Showing or expressing thanks, especially to another person.
12 benefits of gratitude:
If you can’t choose gratitude because it benefits others, choose it for yourself.
- Less stress.
- Resilience.
- Less envy.
- Contentment.
- Optimism.
- Deeper relationships. Who enjoys friendship with an ingrate?
- Improved sleep.
- Better physical health.
- Longevity.
- Increased productivity.
- Improved decision making.
- Higher energy.
Two gratitude practices anyone can achieve:
#1. Record one thing you’re grateful for every morning during the month of November. Aim low so you can be thankful for success.
Tip: Place a small notepad on the corner of your desk as a gratitude trigger.
#2. Everyday ask people what they are grateful for. (Begin meetings by asking the gratitude question.)
What are some dangers of ingratitude?
What are some benefits of gratitude?
Gratitude is a personal privilege.
Note it, celebrate it, humble thySelf forthwith, and move on;
Bring the Others with you,
Lest you be ungrateful;
Or unkind.
Poetic, Rurbane. I’m going to think of the privilege of gratitude today.
I suspect there is a linkage between gratitude and kindness, else vengeance be the order of the day.
What are some dangers of ingratitude? Tends to Alienate others away from you, lack of appreciation can sink the ship. Expectations and accomplishments need to be shared and communicated often, Those who may look up to you for leadership, may stray away separate the connection if you fail to recognize their contributions.
What are some benefits of gratitude? I thing gratitude develops respect for everyone the receivers and the givers, opens a connection that build compared to tearing down. A simple “good job”, that “looks nice”, Mr. Smith called and “praised your courtesy and work ethic”, these little things go a long way for those who feel unappreciated.
Thanks Tim. Who wants to be a friend of an ingrate? (Perhaps another ingrate.)
The idea of gratitude and respect resonates with me. So glad you added it.
I had started a daily blog and “gratitude” was a key component of each entry. I’ve become “too busy” in the last month to do the daily entries. This was a GREAT reminder of what I need to make time for. Thank you!
Best wishes MJB. It seems that busyness is a distraction from meaningfulness – at least some times.
Dear Dan,
An interesting post to push anyone to follow the practice of expressing gratitude in time.
I confidently say that it’s a real good habit to build the unique personality & character. It’s much obligatory to thank and praise someone who has done good to you! The recipient feels happy and is encouraged to do similar good acts for others.
There is an altogether a different experience to recall good teachers in life and show the gratitude towards them in shaping your professional career and personal life. There is an inner joy and satisfaction in the process. I recently participated in Birth Centenary Function of my Late Research Guide with a video-clip in the virtual function. It was quite gratifying on my side to have done my obligatory duty!
Thanks Dr. Asher. Your comment got me thinking about all the people who have generously helped me over the years. That includes teachers that go back to the first teacher I had, Mrs. Goodwin.
So many people have contributed to our journey.
I am grateful each day when I wake up upright and respirating. That means I have but another day to make difference in someones life. That drives my “attitude” and approach throughout that day.
Thanks Roger. At first, I thought it’s the little things that make a big difference. But waking up and breathing aren’t little things. 🙂
They ARE things that allow us to do other things.
I think an elephant in the gratitude room is the expectation that things are done right, first time, every time, on time on cost and on quality. I’ve heard this summed up over and over again in statements like “Why should be be grateful for the fact people are actually doing what they get paid for!?”
Thanks Mitch. You are so right. There is an attitude that says we shouldn’t thank people for work they are paid to do. But, of course we do thank waiters and waitresses, pilots and flight attendants in airplanes, and the sales person who sells us a new car.
Perhaps those stingy with gratitude would benefit from the research about the value of expressing gratitude. Personally, I love what Jack Welch said. … when you catch someone doing good go nuts.
You can count your blessings or count your curses – both can be true, but only counting your blessings makes a positive difference in your life.
Nicely said, Duane. It’s pretty hard to find something bad about gratitude.
I had started a daily blog and “gratitude” was a key component of each entry. I’ve become “too busy” in the last month to do the daily entries. This was a GREAT reminder of what I need to make time for. Thank you!
Thanks Risconsulting. I know exactly what you mean. It takes focus to maintain a gratitude practice. I finally set the bar so low that it’s hard not to succeed.