The Power of Gratitude To Elevate Team Performance

How do you incorporate gratitude into your daily work life with your team members and colleagues? Is it something that you do intentionally or you think about intentionally, or is it something that you really don't give much thought to? Because for years I really didn't consider how critical gratitude was to really driving team performance. So in this episode, we're going to explore how cultivating gratitude as a leader can drive organizational success, increase resilience, and build stronger teams. Because gratitude isn't about being nice, it's a leadership tool for driving results. We're gonna discuss why gratitude matters in leadership and the common challenges leaders have in incorporating gratitude into their daily practices. And lastly, how can you as a leader develop A gratitude practice. I'll share actionable tips and steps that you could be taking to integrate gratitude into your daily corporate life, build a culture surrounded by gratitude, and reap all of the rewards your people, business, and universe have to offer. Stay with us.

Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast that transforms today's managers into tomorrow's powerhouse leaders. Your host, Bernadette Boas, executive coach and author, brings you into a world where the corporate grind meets personal growth and success in each and every episode. With more than 25 years in corporate trenches, Bernadette's own journey from being dismissed as a tyrant boss to becoming a sought-after leadership coach and speaker illustrates the very essence of transformation that she now inspires in others with her tips, strategies, and stories. So if you're ready to shed the bitches of fear and insecurity, ditch the imposter syndrome, and step into the role of the powerhouse leader you were born to be, this podcast is for you. Let's do this.

In a recent episode, Save Your Sanity as a Time Manager, we discussed how burnout, disconnection, and disengagement really is at an all-time high and is deteriorating the fabric of very strong, very functional, or high-functioning gratitude-driven cultures. And the fact that the productivity and performance of team members is being drained as a result of that burnout and that stress. So check out that episode, go back to ballofirecoaching.com/podcast, and you can find, uh, the episode Save Your Sanity as a Time Manager. But I want to give you some statistics that will really hone in on the current state of how employees feel from their leaders, but at the same time, the impact that gratitude can have on your team and on the overall business culture. So 81% of your people work, would work harder simply because their contributions were recognized as a result of the gratitude you show them, the gratitude that you express to them, the gratitude that you model with them. And according to Glassdoor, that's exactly what happens along with 50% are less likely to leave their job if they felt that their work was meaningful, that you appreciated it as a leader, that it was valued in the eyes of yourself, team members, and the business as a whole. So the discussion of gratitude isn't just for when you're out and about in the world, and it's not something that You also wanna take for granted in that being a leader, if I show gratitude, that might make me appear weak. And we're gonna discuss some of those challenges, some of the impacts, some of the reasons why gratitude isn't something thought about intentionally. And yet, as I mentioned, it's a real critical leadership tool that you could be employing in order to ensure that you, the team, and the business are as high functioning as possible. I wanna also share with you, uh, a few of the companies that are really focused on and attributed to gratitude being part of their mission, a part of their charter, part of the overall vision for the company. So such as Southwest Airlines. Now they have a program called SWAG, Southwest Airlines Gratitude Program. They intentionally make sure that they recognize, that they actively listen, and they provide feedback to their employees because they know that that gives that employee a lot of meaningful content for how they're performing, but also how they're appreciated from their bosses, their peers, and the senior leadership as a whole. The other one is Zappos. They have a program, a peer-to-peer recognition program called Zallers, and they ensure that peers are able to recognize each other and really be thankful and grateful for what it is that they are bringing to the table each and every day. And lastly, Zoom. Zoom actively encourages appreciation through initiatives such as their Happy Crew team dedication, team recognition, team feedback, and that crew is really focused on spreading positivity and ensuring that everyone does feel as if they are contributing and that it's a positive, constructive, and uplifting workplace. As a leader, if you had the opportunity to just do research online, as far as who are those companies that really are driving workplace cultures fostered in gratitude and expressions of appreciation and the business impact it has on their businesses, on their teams, on themselves, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. You'll come across some great examples and some of the practices that they're putting into place in order for you to figure out for yourself what are those things that you could be doing each and every day as well. And we're definitely gonna get into that. Before the end of the episode. I really leaned into this topic because I just finished up a really high-quality vacation time with my family. I have 11 brothers and sisters. I got to spend a good 10 days and it— I walked away from there and I really took in the gratitude I felt for the time I got to spend with them. The quality of time I got to spend with them. Now, 11 siblings, spouses, nieces and nephews, it can get a little hairy at times. Absolutely. But I was just so grateful and I am each and every day so grateful to learn a little bit more and to understand and appreciate them a little bit more and to actually share the experience I have with them. A little bit each time that I'm with them, because I do feel, I know I am uplifted. I know I'm motivated. I feel valued and, and important when someone recognizes me. So I was contemplating the overall feeling I was experiencing when it came to gratitude. And I thought to myself, this is what employees are looking for from their leaders. It doesn't matter what level of the organization we're talking about. Everyone from the janitor to the chairman wants to know that they are contributing, that they are valued, that they are appreciated, that their contributions each and every day are making a difference. No matter how small or big. That's why I think it's really important for any of us as leaders to put ourselves in our employees' shoes and say to ourselves, what would they want? Because I want it too. I want my boss to say thank you. I want my boss to say great job. I want my boss to recognize that. I finished a project on time. I finished a project over and above what was asked of me, so forth and so on. And therefore I need to express that and I need to give that back to my people. That's the dialogue I would love for each and every one of you to have with yourself when it comes to gratitude, because the difference that it makes is significant to the individuals. I've spoken on the show over the last 5 or 6 months about some work I did all of last year, going around the country, talking to hundreds and hundreds of employees and their managers, again, at various levels of an organization. And the gratitude and appreciation, the impact of that on employees is significant. Many of them were simply looking for an attaboy. Thank you. Good job. Very simple. Doesn't take anything out of your pocket. Doesn't take any effort, but it strengthens your relationships with your peers, with your colleagues, with your employees, with your management. And it definitely, definitely will minimize that stress and that burnout that I mentioned at the very beginning of the episode. Gratitude strengthens relationships. As a leader, it helps you really express the contribution that your team members are making, and therefore, whether it's individually or as a collective team, it's increasing team engagement, it's increasing trust, it's increasing respect, it's increasing retention. It has tremendous power in gratitude, and it rewires the brain. If you think about it, when all of a sudden, if you're not in the best state of mind and someone comes along and gives you that attaboy, gives you that great job, gives you a star, so to speak, well, it rewires your brain from maybe a drained, stressed, negative state of being into more positive, energetic, and productive energy. And therefore, if you are finding yourself or someone else feeling just absolutely drained out, burned out, stressed out, then a little sharing, an expression of gratitude can just totally shift that individual's attitude. Now, I wanna say based on that, if you're looking for a shift, if you're looking for a rewiring because you are exhausted and you just don't have anything more to give. Well, you don't have to wait for someone else to recognize you and to provide you feedback or appreciation. You can go and give it, and giving it really also will help you to rewire yourself. I, there was a saying that I learned, I would say about 10 or 12 years ago that I didn't understand at first. Serving others serves you. And when I first heard that and I wrote it down in my journal and I kind of stayed with it for quite a while, and I'm not talking minutes, I'm talking like days and months, serving others serves you. Well, okay, I'm gonna go out and serve others in order for me to benefit from it, to gain something from it, to take something from it. Then the serving others serves you started making sense to me and what it's started meaning, and what it does mean is give to others. And it's not as if you're taking something back from them, but by giving to others, by helping others, by serving others, by recognizing others, by appreciating others, by expressing, you know, your appreciation to them, to others, the, the happiness and the joy that that gives that individual. Feeds you, feeds your soul, and creates that shift, creates that rewiring, creates that energy and positivity. Serving others serves you spiritually, mentally, emotionally, let alone that if you keep giving, giving, giving, you will also reap the rewards materialistically as well as non-materialistically. So, you know, giving positive messages, giving positive input, and whether that's materially, like if you were doing a recognition reward and you were giving out a little trophy or a fun recognition, whatever it might be, it is creating positivity and appreciation in others. And then lastly, organizations that really focus on a gratitude culture, a gratitude environment, really do see significant performance improvements, up to 20%, according to a Harvard study, of both their performance and their satisfaction in their job and with the manager. So employee effectiveness goes up, manager effectiveness goes up, retention goes up. It's, it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. So to summarize, the business impact, because many of us in the business world, all we're thinking about is how is anything that we do going to drive results? How is it gonna make our results better, stronger, more profitable? Hmm. So it's really important for you to understand the numerous impacts that showing gratitude to others has on the business. So you're improving team engagement and overall satisfaction. Mentioned that you're increasing trust, respect, loyalty, collaboration, creativity. You're creating stronger, more confident employees and yourself as an individual. You're helping them recognize that by showing gratitude for a job well done, or even a job that they might have struggled with, you're also building confidence and resilience within themselves and within you, especially when it comes to some very challenging, difficult times when everybody has to kind of come together and really just get into the muckety muck and clean something up, so to speak. Well, you showing appreciation for that, you showing your gratitude for everybody kind of jumping in, whether or not, you know, some were successful in, in doing it and some weren't. That's just gonna build great resilience, um, great optimism, great hope, uh, and great ongoing willingness to go the extra mile, to try something new, to take risks, to do their best, even though at times they may struggle. You recognizing that they are trying, they are working, is, is just a significant motivator. And powerful motivator for teams. And then of course, you're gonna be reducing burnout and stress and feeling of disconnection and lack of engagement, uh, are, are all going to improve. And then of course, what's critical, especially in this very competitive marketplace for employees, especially for very skilled expert employees, you're definitely going to be increasing that retention of those high potentials, of those very skilled expert employees, and therefore you're minimizing any risks of losing significant knowledge and expertise and skills that are needed for the business. And according to research from Gallup, it is shown that employees have a greater appreciation depending on who is expressing gratitude to them. 28% want to hear from their employees' manager. A high-level leader or the CEO is 24%. The manager's manager is at 12% and a customer's 10% and peers the same 10%. So depending upon who's giving it, the employee is valuing it at different levels of importance. At the same time, for the employee, they, they want to hear from you. That's 28%. That's the, the, the largest group wants to hear directly from their manager because they're working with you day in and day out. They want to know that they're showing up at work and the person that they're directly impacting, let alone your boss or the boss's boss, that they're making a difference for you and you appreciate it. You're grateful for them. Keep that in mind when you're thinking about how can you and what do you need to do to shift the performance you're getting from your team. It could be simply making sure that gratitude is part of your day-in, day-out practice. For many years in my corporate career, I never really thought about making sure I was given attaboys and thank yous and recognition. I mean, I had the attitude, you're getting paid to do a job, just so just do the job. Well, that doesn't work. As human beings with beating hearts, that doesn't work to motivate and inspire and get people to want to walk through fire for you and want to really just go the extra mile. Learning how to build in recognition, how to build in feedback, how to build in gratitude will have significant, significant impact. Positivity to the overall culture, but overall results that you're getting from your team. If gratitude is so powerful, if it makes such a major impact on the business, on the team's performance, on your sanity, then why Why does so many managers, uh, slash leaders have a difficult time expressing that? Well, I mentioned the chaotic environment of business nowadays, let alone the constraint on your time. The constraint on any manager's time leaves them feeling as if I don't have time to stop and intentionally recognize someone or write them a note or put together a recognition program. Do you see my calendar? I don't have any time to build in doing one-on-ones, let alone groups beyond what I'm already doing. Now, is that acceptable? I'll leave that up to you to answer if it's, if it's acceptable or not to take the few moments that it does require in order for you to appreciate and express that to an employee or to a group of employees. And then, of course, I mentioned it subtly earlier. Some managers, even some clients that I've worked with over the years, feel as if they're getting soft if they show a lot of appreciation, a lot of thank yous, a lot of attaboys. You, again, they have this attitude, they have a job to do, they're paid for that job, and therefore I just simply expect it. I don't necessarily intentionally need to go around patting them on the back. Again, one will get a result and the other one will get a result, and it depends upon what kind of result do you want. Do you want the result that just has people showing up and doing their job and, and exiting? Or that they show up and they're excited about it and they're willing to do whatever it takes to do it because of what they know they're going to get from you or their manager in, in regards to an expression of appreciation. You're not going soft, you're going human. And I've felt that way in the past, many years ago while I was in corporate, that I don't want to ever appear soft, especially as a woman. And yet I've learned especially over the last 15, 16 years, that it's not going soft, it's going heart. Heart. It's going human to human heart, recognizing that if I'm stressed, if I'm doing my best, if I just want somebody to kind of give me a wink of appreciation, then you know what? My team members probably do too. And that's all it is. And then there is this misconception about what gratitude is really about. It's nothing that has to be, again, woo woo. It's nothing that has to be like hugs and kisses. It's not going soft. It's not going weak. It's not being emotional. If you simply in an individual one-on-one or in a group, or even within the company, you recognize someone's contributions, recognize someone going over and above, recognizing someone's willingness to do things that they're not necessarily required to do. It's not going weak. Then the last reason why a lot of the managers don't incorporate gratitude in it is they have blind spots to it. They don't realize the impact of gratitude on their people. If one does not receive feedback from their peers, from their employees, from their own managers that it'd be nice if you at least showed some heart, you know, showed some appreciation for how hard I'm working. If they don't receive that type of feedback, if their people aren't coming to them with that, well, that's going to be a blind spot. And therefore, what you, what, and all managers need to be doing is engaging, connecting, and building a relationship with your team members to really understand what is it that you need needs a team member in order to feel appreciated, inspired, motivated, energized, positive, so forth and so on. That's all you need to do is find that out and then simply put into practice how you see fit and what you're comfortable with to ensure that they're getting what they need. So again, recognizing that blind spot and becoming aware of it, you then learn to walk in someone else's shoes and give back to them what it is that they need, because it's probably something that you need, even though you might have this guard or mask on of, I don't need any appreciation. I don't need to be thanked. We all want someone to just, good job. Thank you. Attaboy. Where are you when it comes to gratitude? Receiving it as well as giving it. And if you receive it well, think about, then what do I need to do to give it? And again, people feel uncomfortable even giving it because they don't want to appear weak or emotional or soft. And that's so far from what you would actually appear. You would appear confident, mature, respected. Um, people-oriented, heart-connected. If you have any kind of disconnect to your heart where gratitude plays at in the workplace, then just simply work to, to shift it and change it and redefine it and tell yourself a different story around it. Because again, there's just too many personal and business results or business value you'll get from it. Serving others serves you. What can you do to incorporate gratitude into your daily work life and even your home life? Well, start a daily practice of reflecting on what you're grateful for. Just take some time each morning before you jump out of bed or you're making coffee. I will often do it as I'm standing there making my breakfast. I have a small jar with strips of paper, and I will just sit there and scribble out on a very small piece of paper what I'm grateful for, and I stick it in that jar. But find a way and find a time that works for you to just pause and take 5 minutes to reflect on what you're grateful for. Now, at first it will seem very forced and very artificial. I'm grateful for the food. I'm grateful for the house. I'm grateful for the car. I'm grateful for my job. Then you'll start opening up and really finding those things that, small or large, that bring you real joy and bring you real fulfillment and satisfaction in your life that you really are grateful for. It might turn into being the sun that comes up or on your walk, the sounds that were around you. That made you kind of shift a bad mood that you were in. At the same time, it could then shift to, I appreciate Joe, who I've never recognized before, or didn't pay attention to, or just kind of ignored. And I really appreciate what he was willing to do for me today or yesterday, over and above what he's responsible for. Whatever the case might be, just take some time. And I would also extend it from the morning to the night. So again, once in the morning, you could find a space for it. And then as you lay down at night, nothing's better than to fall asleep going through what you're grateful for from that day. And it just puts you in a really great mind space for then getting a good night's sleep. You could start writing that in a journal. Where you're journaling it down, if it's not on strips of paper, if it's not just in your head, whatever the case might be. You could make a practice at work on team calls or during team meetings to really understand from your team members what they're grateful for. And then you can express what you're grateful for. Almost think about it as Thanksgiving dinner table where people go around and they share what they're grateful for from that year. If you wanna create a, a gratitude culture, you could certainly do that within your own team. And then you wanna definitely start paying attention and recognizing the contributions from your people. It could be your, your employees, but it also could be peers and your own managers and their managers' managers in regards to writing thank you notes. Yes, writing, pen and paper. You can also just put out an email, even a text that says thank you for whatever it might be, thumbs up, even a quick text. As a leader, your team members know how busy you are. And so just the fact that you do that takes 10 seconds, uh, will also build that, um, respect. Build that appreciation, build that trust, build that loyalty, build that relationship and that connection with you from just a very short blurb. You can also make sure that you're verbalizing it one-on-one, as well as in the team or at the company level. Make sure that you're showing and expressing to them how grateful you are for them, how thankful you are for them. All right. And then of course, You wanna model that gratitude attitude. You wanna demonstrate that and live it and make it a part of you, even with those around you, by helping them incorporate gratitude into their practices. Gratitude is contagious. Again, serving others serves you. When people see you modeling how you're helping others to be lifted up, and to be appreciated, to be recognized, to be valued, then they're going to pass that on as well. And so you can create a domino effect in that you start practicing and others will start practicing, and suddenly you have this culture that's more positive, uplifting, motivating, energized, and high functioning. And who wouldn't want that as a team leader?, when it comes to driving team performance. Okay. Now, I also wanted to mention, if you have any resistance to this, start small. Take one of the, the tips that I provided, one of the practices that you can incorporate. Even if the one thing that you take is that, yes, I am going to take 5 minutes in the morning and at night, and I'm at least going to spend time within myself appreciating and be grateful for whatever you have in your life, whatever happened at work, whatever individuals stepped up, whatever you even, you learned or you went through that was either easy or hard. Everything that we do, every action we have and we take and we live through in life, we should be grateful for whether it's hard or easy, whether it's painful or joyful. We should be grateful for it because it's teaching us something. It's contributing to our lives in some way, shape, or form. And so even if you, when you start small and you want to start feeling and experiencing a gratitude attitude, then just simply spend that 5 minutes in the morning and at night being grateful. Now, if you want to ensure that you are taken the steps, uh, in fostering that type of culture, then simply start intentionally and authentically, I should mention authentically, thanking others, making sure they know that you appreciate them. So simply start a thank you practice where instead of just going from one assignment to the other and throwing it at your team members, pause and thank them. I'll never forget how one feels depleted when someone doesn't express gratitude. There's a saying when it comes to sales roles that once you close something, the comment will be, so what are you going to do for me today? So they don't even take the time, take the moments, let alone the days, weeks, or months to thank you and appreciate a win that just happened. They, they immediately, so what are you going to do for me today? And I can recall very easily in corporate how they looked at that as strong, as well, good job for you. That's your job. And let's get on to today. And yet I oftentimes, when I was on the other end accomplishing or closing or achieving something, and that comment was made to me, I just wanted to smack somebody because it hurt. It kind of just made everything that I just worked my tail off for totally useless, of no value. And so I just plead with all the managers and leaders out there, take the small amount of time authentically to express your gratitude for your team members and for your peers and for everyone else. It will change your life. It'll change their lives and it will change the business. Now, if you are hesitant or are, are unsure of where to start when it comes to incorporating these practices into your daily life or into your team culture, then don't hesitate to reach out and let's have a conversation. Let me understand what your daily practices are already and which ones would best suit and best complement your routine so it doesn't feel so disruptive. It doesn't feel so awkward and uncomfortable. So go to coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall and let's have a conversation for 30 minutes and I'll give you specific actions you could be taking that will change your life and your team's. All right. Until next time, I'm so happy that you were here with us this week. I'll look forward to another episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch. Bye.

Thank you for tuning into today's episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch. Every journey taken together is another step towards unleashing the powerhouse leader within you. Don't miss any of our weekly episodes. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you love to listen. And for those who thrive on visual content, catch us on our Shedding the Bitch YouTube channel. Wanna dive deeper with Bernadette on becoming a powerhouse leader? Visit balloffirecoaching.com to learn more about how she helps professionals, HR executives, and team leaders elevate overall team performance. You've been listening to Shedding the Corporate Bitch with Bernadette Boas. Until next time, keep shedding, keep growing, and keep leading.