BE Sincere...or wait until you are!

Ever had an encounter where someone expressed thanks, appreciation, or gratitude to you, but YOU didn’t FEEL it?

If we're honest about it, you may have even wondered…did THEY feel it?

Or did they have a KPI to express more appreciation?

In today's world, people have highly developed BS detectors. If someone thinks a thank you or show of gratitude is not sincere, they become skeptical of and doubt the person who expressed it. Rather than feeling warmed by your message, they feel WARNED about your sincerity and authenticity.

This is why we advise leaders against proclaiming that ALL leaders must now be grateful leaders. It doesn’t work that way!

I fully support the idea of setting an intention for all leaders in our company to embody gratitude as a leadership quality.

Be a leader that inspires gratitude within the team. Better yet, be one who models it.

Do not try to force gratitude!

What is usually the missing ingredient when someone uses the right words, but the feeling is off?

You got it! Sincerity.

INSPIRATION

As we discussed last week, Keeping It Simple matters. But unless you add sincerity to your simple message, you’re missing the mark. You may even be doing more harm than good.

Ralph Marston reminds us,

Make it a habit to tell people 'thank you.' To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you.

We offer a workshop called The Art of Heartfelt Gratitude that helps leaders and teams combine logic and emotion in their messages. So many of us are tempted to OVERTHINK everything...including messages of gratitude and appreciation.

Usually, when you overthink, you UNDER-FEEL and write a technical expression rather than a personal one.

THIS WEEK'S TIPS

Here are two tips from our Masterclass.

• Write with a heart full of gratitude rather than a head full of obligation.
• Realize that expressing gratitude is a privilege! Please don’t approach it as either a performance or a perfunctory task. Trust me on this — your team will see right through it

TODAY'S INVITATION

Pause now and think of someone you want to thank, appreciate, or celebrate.

Got someone?

Picture that person clearly in your mind, and take a moment to reflect on why you feel grateful for them.

Now, with a heart full of fresh gratitude, write them a sincere message of thanks, appreciation or gratitude (TAG).

Saying thank you can make their day better, bring you closer, and encourage others to be thankful too.

Now imagine what would happen if you did that every day for a month in July?

What if you invited your team to join you? We’re imagining it.

We’re now imagining ONE MILLION expressions of gratitude happening around the world as part of Don’t Wait To Thank . We want YOU to join US. You can get more information here.

If you have a company or community you want to involve, we want to help you do that.?Send me a DM and we'll send information your way.