Lead with Gratitude at work (3 ways more powerful than Thank you and other gifts!)

Hey, difference makers, are you ready to figure out exactly how old I am? First off, I kind of want to know why you care. Secondly is, I promise that I'm going to tell you, but I'm going to save it for the end because there's a lot of things that I've learned in my time on this earth, and one of them is about gratitude and how that can actually add so much to not just the bottom line in your spreadsheet of your company, but in the bottom line of your life. So I want to take just a couple moments to share with you some of those lessons, and then I promise I'll give you the big reveal and hopefully you're not disappointed. But just in case you haven't already, make sure you subscribe because this is in a series of videos and it's all on our channel. The power of Purpose that's brought to you by A Better Place Consulting. And of course, me, Bunny Young, and my chief canine officer, Guinness. Make sure you click the subscribe button. Like this video. And then I want to know in the comments how you feel about your birthday. And. And when somebody asks you your age, do you share? I'm ready to share, but just at the end of this video. P.S. guinness is 5. So you may be wondering what a birthday has to do with a video about gratitude, especially gratitude at work. And one of the reasons that I tied these two things together is because when somebody says, hey, happy birthday, like that, immediate response is, oh, thank you. Also, let me know in the comments how you're liking this motif that I've got going today. And so many times in life we just have this automatic response of, you know, how are you doing? Oh, I'm fine. And so the, the actual act of gratitude and of sharing gratitude. There are a couple ways that I want to share with you that can really make a difference for somebody to be able to really know that you care and really know that they are appreciated. And when you have somebody working with you on your team or at your company, or if you are a solopreneur and it's somebody that is just like your banker or your accountant, that helps you, you sharing gratitude can really make the difference between being successful and not being successful. And so I want to share with you three quick ways that can really make a difference in how you share gratitude and mean so much more than just that quick thank you. And so the first thing is show it. So instead of just saying thank you, show it. And remember that people experience gratitude differently. And so, you know, by saying it, it could be adequate for some people. But what I mean by showing it is it's not just about buying them a gift. It's about showing that you appreciate them. Show that you're grateful, make eye contact with that person, share that time with them and share that moment and make sure that they, even if it's virtually that they know that they mean something to you. And you can say thank you, but show that you don't really care or that you're not appreciative of that person or that you're not grateful of their time. And even if you are actually grateful by not showing it in your body language and in your facial expressions, then you can be sending a mixed message. So, number one, show it. Number two, really listen. And this definitely goes with the showing it, but it also, when you send somebody a gift or when you remember their birthday or when you remember their anniversary, it shows that you're really listening. And so it kind of ties number one, which was show it to number two of really listening. So once you are really. Once you show that you're grateful for this person and they're sharing with you and you can show that you're really listening by remembering the little things or if they have an upcoming trip or like me, I collect rocks and so I have clients that bring me back rocks from really cool places. And I'm super grateful for that because it shows that they really were paying attention, they do care. And it means something to me because they were thinking of me while they were on vacation or they were on a trip or something like that. So really listen. The details can mean so much to people because so many people just are not paying attention anymore. And what we put up on social media versus what we share in a genuine conversation, especially at work, is two different things. And so being able. When somebody says like, how are you doing? And somebody answers authentically and lets them know, here actually is how I'm doing. Really listen. Just take the time and stop and don't be thinking about how you're going to respond. Just really listen. When's the last time you felt really listened to? Here are some thank you cards that I'm sending to the resort staff because they took the time, I have a service animal to make sure that he was taken care of and that we had everything that we needed. It took me probably less than 10 minutes to hand write thank you notes and, and that can make a huge difference. And that's another way to go back to number one, that you can definitely show It. Are you ready for it? Drumroll. Be consistent. Especially in the workplace, consistently showing gratitude for your team, for your clients, for the work that you do is probably the number one most overlooked way to share gratitude at work. Because somebody can say, oh, well, you know, I bought them a birthday present last year or I, you know, gave them a Christmas bonus. And love languages are different. Even work love languages are different. So consistently showing up and making sure that that person knows how grateful you are for them and for what they do is critical. It's just critical for a human to feel like they're important and they matter and that they make a difference and that their role is important to the success of the company and to the end result of the client. And so consistently having ways for not just you to show them gratitude, but also for other people to provide feedback for them. Remember that not everybody likes to be publicly celebrated, but it is nice to be able to include them in a testimonial, or shoot them an email, or surprise them with breakfast, or surprise them with an extra day of pto and consistently make sure that this person or people know that you're grateful for them. Because at the end of the day, it's not the skills or the widgets or the things that we do in our daily work that ends up making the companies that we run or that we are part of a success. It's the humans inside them. And each and every human is a desire and a need to be and feel appreciated. And so this is not. It's like nutrients for our soul and it's nutrients for our well being and it's nutrients for our mental health. And so being able to know that the person means it and that it's consistent and that it's coming, is constantly feeding that these are little tiny things that really do add up to a lot and mean a lot to those that work around you and those that are part of your team. And emotions are contagious. And so if you start to show gratitude for your team or your clients and the environment that you work in, others will as well. And I would be completely remiss without sharing with you one of my best and greatest gifts that I've ever had in business. And that is depending on who you ask, my director of productivity, or I also like to call her the Vice President of getting shit done. Big V. So if you have ever emailed me, if you have ever posted any comments on social media, if you've ever LinkedIn messaged me, I can almost guarantee that you have interacted With V, she keeps me sane, she keeps me grounded, she keeps my calendar together, she keeps our teams running. And there's so many moving parts within the companies that I'm a part of. And to have one person that is there for me and so much more than a personal assistant, but there to make sure that I'm being able to stay focused on the things that are most important to me and that the clients that mean the world to me are being taken care of and that I have somebody that I can trust to be able to do that and to be able to almost read my mind, which is kind of scary thing. That is the greatest gift that I have in my company, is to be able to have a person like V and a team like I have that allows me to take as much time as I need to be with my family, to recover from a car accident, to recover from a heart surgery. All of the things that I have been through over the past six years, going through horrible business divorces, and just to know that there's somebody that can catch whatever crazy thoughts I have. And also understand the importance of the work that we do each and every day. And yes, it's. It is a tremendous amount of work that we do because everywhere in the world right now, business therapy is needed, but we get up each and every day with such a passion. And so I want my big V to know that I appreciate you so incredibly much. And there are no words, no amount of times that I can say it, that would be enough. And if I could send you a giant, purple, sparkly unicorn, I would totally do it. But until then, I'm just going to continue to name your mugs. And we're going to save that for another YouTube episode that I will definitely share the mugs. Thank you, V. I hope that each and every one of you have a V in your life. And remember, show your gratitude, really listen and be consistent. And those are three things that will definitely change how your team and your clients and the work that you do is received, how much it impacts and how big of a difference it makes to the world. And one more time, thank you, V. Oh, you thought I forgot, didn't you? Are you ready? 3, 2, 1. Here we go. That's the big number. And thank you. An extra special thank you and gratitude to Dr. Tracy Gendron for making sure that ageism is not a thing. Because so many times in life I have heard, wow, you don't look old enough to run a company or you don't look old enough to be a coach. Or have any business experience, I'm here. I've sold companies. I've grown companies. I've started companies. I currently have five companies. So age is just a number. And I appreciate you trusting me with your companies in order to make the world a better place. And remember that anyone can accomplish anything at any age. It's simply just a number. Now go make the world a better place. And in honor of my birthday, go throw a starfish subscribe button. So make sure you click the subs so make sure you click the subscribe gut.