How Well Do You Express Gratitude At Work?

Most people have a very difficult time receiving praise and compliments. And there are plenty of reasons for it ranging from being raised to always be "modest" and/or "humble" to having been convinced that "getting a big head" and becoming "arrogant" will be the end result. Nothing is further from the truth and both are forms of the fear of being fabulous.

Yet, what about the other side of the coin—showing your gratitude and appreciation?

This week, in the United States, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. So, whether you live in the US or elsewhere, it can be a perfect time to show the people you work with how thankful you are they‘re around. Whether they are peers on the same team with you, someone you report to, or people who report to you, how would you feel if you committed to expressing your gratitude this week?

It doesn’t have to be a big deal, just that conscious expression of appreciation for their good work, continual support, or even how fun they are "to hang out with" during breaks or after work.

How would you feel if you made a point to express your gratitude to everyone who matters?

Some people will no doubt jump on this idea and set about creating fun and very personalized expressions of praise and care that they will deliver throughout the week and perhaps throughout the rest of their working lives when appropriate.

But for many this idea will strike at the heart of concerns that:

* it’s playing politics

* it’s touchy feely

* it’s another bunch of psycho-babble

Others will have worries about how they’ll come across:

* it will make me look like a phoney

* people will think I want something from them

* I’ll stumble and stammer and be a jerk

Either way, the fact remains that most people feel underappreciated in the workplace and they don’t mean on their pay scale or their title. They feel that their good work is taken for granted, that no one really cares about them unless they start to screw up. And that’s a shame.

So, take a moment and think about what you can do this week and throughout the holiday season and hopefully thereafter to make the workplace a more visionary and caring place, a more truly human place. And make sure to take it in when your colleagues let you know how much they appreciate you reaching out to them.

I look forward to hearing your responses and ideas for expressing your gratitude at work!

(Photo: Open Clouds Blue - Gratitude by Nakeva/Flickr)

Judith Sherven, PhD and her husband Jim Sniechowski, PhD https://JudithandJim.com have developed a penetrating perspective on people’s resistance to success, which they call The Fear of Being Fabulous. Recognizing the power of unconscious programming to always outweigh conscious desires, they assert that no one is ever failing—they are always succeeding. The question is, at what? To learn about how this played out in the life of Whitney Houston, check out their 6 book: https://WhatReally KilledWhitneyHouston.com

Contributors to the Huffington Post and currently working as consultants on retainer to LinkedIn providing executive coaching, leadership training and consulting as well as working with private clients around the world, they continually prove that when unconscious beliefs are brought to the surface, the barriers to greater success and leadership presence begin to fade away. They call it Overcoming the Fear of Being Fabulous https://OvercomingtheFearofBeingFabulous.com