The most powerful way to give thanks with your leadership

As a leader, you want to make a positive difference to others. You’re always giving - whether it’s advice, support, time and so on. There’s no down time. People are always taking their cues from how you react and respond.

What have you received this year? I’m not talking about a bonus, promotion or that sort of thing. I’m talking about how others have contributed to you – to what you’ve learned and achieved that’s helped you and your leadership. 

Christmas is close and 2020 is around the corner. I invite you to put your to do list in the lead up to Christmas aside for a minute, and self-reflect on this question: 

For everything that went right and wrong for you this year, how did the people around you contribute to what you learned and how you grew as a leader? With this contribution in mind, what can you choose to be grateful for? For example:

• Was it your team’s trust in you that allowed you the freedom to nudge people outside their comfort zone to achieve great results?
• Did your boss or mentor provide the encouragement and support you needed just when you needed it?
• Did someone undermine you, disappoint or hurt you in some way where the jolt gave you clarity about your own leadership style, values and resilience? 
• What’s the thing you’re most proud of achieving this year? Did that achievement come, for example, with a new belief that when presented with a challenge, the best in you and your team come out?

Reflecting on how we’ve benefited from the experiences we’ve had and the people we’ve worked with, is a good thing. Why? Chances are, you’ve spent more time with your work colleagues this year than your family. It can be humbling to reflect on how others have contributed positively to us even if the experiences weren’t always positive.

Gratitude is an attitude – one that can powerfully reframe how things are to enable us to choose perspectives that serve us better than finding fault or focusing on the gap or the expectation not met for example. Gratitude is also a practice. Each day gives us something to be grateful for and a little bit of gratitude goes a long way, even on the darkest of days.

No one succeeds alone – we succeed with and through others.

What can you choose to be grateful for? Who can you personally acknowledge this week for making a difference to you this year?

On a final note, thank you for your ongoing support this year in reading these blogs. I’m grateful for the opportunity to make a difference to you. 

P.S - Recent brain research shows that six doses of feeling 30 seconds of gratitude daily (a whopping three minutes!) will enable your neurons to fire together and wire together around gratitude within a mere two weeks. This means you’ll more easily and frequently access the feeling of gratitude.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2017/11/19/great-leaders-have-an-attitude-of-gratitude-do-you/#7057e71728f3

Interested in growing your leadership in 2020? Let's chat to explore how I can help.

Download my White Paper: Changemaker Leadership. If the only constant is change, the successfully leading people through change is core to effective leadership. This White Paper has been written for leaders who want to bring others with them as they navigate the complexities and challenges of managing today and creating tomorrow. Download it here:

 https://tonicourtney.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/White-Paper-ChangeMaker-Leadership-Empowering-Others-Through-Change.pdf