The Little Guide to Gracious Acts

In 2020 you can change the world one act at a time: start with these 37.

We live in an era of significant digital, generational and geo-political uncertainty, disruption and distrust.  Many of us wake every day and face real modern-day dangers from the outside world: a fragile economy, pressures from the market, competitors who aim to steal our job or undermine our business. 

 In response, people--in every culture, from all socio-economic strata, of every age—increasingly seek to balance and offset these daily dangers by infusing more meaning and values into their everyday lives.

One approach is to reflect on the trinity that defines who every person is at their natural best: your personal #Vision personal #Purpose, and personal #Values. Then make a list of the people, places or things in your personal and professional life either enable or inhibit you living your trinity.

Another approach (perhaps simpler) is to DO a simple, daily behavior that helps create a #culture and #environment in which #trust, #cooperation, #belonging and #fulfillment can thrive.

A Gracious Act is also a kind act. Both are behavioral muscles and just like building new muscles in a gym, graciousness and kindness require training, practice and consistency to build over time.

Imagine if in 2020 each of us commits to doing one small gracious or kind act every day. What would that world look like? Could the sum of all these acts positively impact some of the distrust, divisiveness and negative mindsets and behaviors infecting the world? Could this collection of micro-actions inject a small dose of daily meaning and values into our lives?

 What is a Gracious Act?

A gracious act is the giving of your time and energy with no expectation of anything in return. This voluntary act of service demonstrates appreciation, gratitude, kindness or empathy.

Gracious Acts Self-test

Ask yourself if these are true:

- I go out of my way to make others feel included.

- I say “thank you” in person to show sincere appreciation for the people I work with.

- I understand that small acts of kindness make work easier and more fun.

- I take time to get to know the people I work with – building trusted, genuine relationships.

 The Little Guide to Gracious Acts (37)

1. Hold the door open for people. Yes, believe it or not, that actually makes people feel good ... see, told you this was simple.

 “Gratitude is more of a compliment to yourself than someone else.”— Raheel Farooq

 2. Thanks a latte! Know each of your team members’ coffee preferences by heart. When you can, surprise them with a morning brew just like the way they like it.

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big

things.” — Robert Brault

3. We make a great pear. Make sure you invite your team to team lunch — real lunch — as often as you can.

 “If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.”— Daniel Goleman

4. Call me old-fashioned. Write handwritten cards to say thank you to a client or team member. Be specific about what they did and the impact it had on you.

 5. Eat an apple a day, but put that apple away. Pocket your cell phone when you’re talking with someone. Let them know they are your primary focus at that moment.

“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.”— Frank A. Clark

 6. Catch people doing things right. Let your teammates know they are doing a great job at work.

 “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” — William James

7. Horoscope of work. Collect teammates’ birth dates and do something special for each of them on their birthday.

 “Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” — John Wooden

8. Come in with a bang. Host a party and leave balloons on your teammates desk when they join the organization.

 “When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.”— Stephen Covey

9. Do ask, do tell. Show you care — regularly ask how your teammates are doing and actively listen to their answer.

“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.”— William Arthur Ward

10. Say cheese. Arrange for a team photo to hang on the wall.

“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” — Scott Adams

11. Goooooal! Your teammate’s kid has a soccer game on Saturday? Remember to ask on Monday how it went!

 “The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.” — Charles Schwab

12. Itchin’ for recognition? Thank a team member publicly for their effort.

 “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” — Amelia Earhart

13. Eat now, pay later. Pay for someone’s lunch every now and then.

14. It’s mine. Show your commitment to your team even in your language — say “my team” instead of “the team.”

 “Entrepreneurs may be brutally honest, but fostering relationships with partners and building enduring communities requires empathy, self-sacrifice and a willingness to help others without expecting anything in return.”— Ben Parr

15. Pay it forward. When writing recognition emails, consider how it can be forwarded to a manager or supervisors to be used for annual reviews.

 “Always be a little kinder than necessary.” — James M. Barrie

16. Show and tell. On a Monday morning meeting, ask the team how their weekend was.

 17. Bean around the world? On a typically hard or stressful day take the team out for some fresh air and coffee.

 “Transparency, honesty, kindness, good stewardship, even humor, work in businesses at all times.” — John Gerzema

18. Surprise and delight. Make a small donation to the charity a coworker is involved in.

  “The level of our success is limited only by our imagination and no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” — Aesop

 19. Show others they're first. Put your cellphone away during meetings. (it's a subconscious reaction and it shows people that you care)

 “Newly minted leaders should actually be focusing on likability first. While strength makes people feel they have to follow you, warmth makes employees want to follow you.” — Mary Viciello

20. Donut neglect the little things. Every now and then bring fresh pastries and croissants to work for your team to brighten up their day.

 21. Mint condition. Leave a pack of gum on your desk from which anyone can take a piece — everyone wins!

 “Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.”-- Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

22. Give thanks … live. Say thank you in person rather than at the end of an email — it’s very impactful!

 “In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day — or to celebrate each special day.”

— Rasheed Ogunlaru

23. Shoot for the C-suite. Offer to be your team’s “CEO” — chief entertainment officer — and help plan weekly dinners or other activities.

 24. Team to win. Help your teammates even when they don't ask for it.

 “Feeling gratitude, and not expressing it, is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

— William Arthur Ward

25. Sharing is caring. Consider who you may know who can mentor a new team member and help expand their network.

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

26. Spinning is winning. Organize a team exercise class and get that endorphin rush!

 “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

27. 360-degree celebration. Say an encouraging word to your leader. It can get lonely up there!

 “Keep your eyes open and try to catch people in your company doing something right, then praise them for it.” — Tom Hopkins

28. Bravo, peer to peer! Recognize teammates for being great teammates. Get creative, use action figures, handmade certificates, your favorite candy to represent a fun award.

 29. Teams are made at the dinner table. Invite your team for dinner at your house.

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” — Albert Schweitzer

30. Extended family. Know the names and about the lives of your tea

31. A picture says a thousand words. Create a team photo roll. A place for people to share what's happening inside and out of work. It keeps everyone in the loop in an effortless way.

 “Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you’re going to live life” — Joel Osteen

32. No place I’d rather be…buy a lottery ticket for the team and talk about what everyone would do if they won.

 33. Check in. Stop by the office or call a teammate just to check in. No shop talk. Just make sure they're doing okay. 

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”— James Allen

34. Free day. Cancel that Friday afternoon meeting and let your team leave an hour early.

 35. Real world experience. Offer to let a newcomer “shadow” you for a day or a week to get their feet wet.

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”— Princess Diana

36. You can sit with us. Invite new hires to sit with you and your team at lunch.

37. Surprise and delight. Share unsolicited, positive feedback about a colleague with their manager.

“The Internet has given us the illusion of intimacy … But that illusion of intimacy is just that — an illusion. It distracts us from the important principle of reaching out to them personally first, and making the sometimes difficult effort of keeping it private and saving the relationship.”

— Phil Cooke