John Eades* shows how – with a little effort – great leaders can turn some of their worst problems into opportunities.
Do you remember the last time you received a handwritten ‘thank you’ note?
Chances are it’s been a while.
Frank Blake, the former Chief Executive of Home Depot, used to set aside a couple of hours every Sunday for handwritten ‘thank you’ notes to stand out employees.
He estimated he wrote more than 25,000 notes to everyone from managers to hourly employees.
Mr Blake’s efforts made a positive impact on his people and the Home Depot business.
Studies show taking up the same habit can do the same for you.
A study by Glassdoor found that 80 per cent of employees would be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss.
Some 70 per cent said they’d feel better about themselves and their efforts if their boss thanked them more regularly.
The benefits don’t stop at the person being thanked.
A multitude of studies shows people who express gratitude on a regular basis have better overall wellbeing and healthier hearts.
In other words: Gratitude is the gateway to engagement.
Many individuals and teams deserve sincere thanks.
It is very easy to overlook these things, particularly if showing gratitude isn’t currently in your repertoire.
Here are three things that can cause you adversity but you should give gratitude to.
The team members you get the opportunity to lead.
I know this might sound obvious, but for most people in a position of leadership, people are the hardest part of their job.
I work with leaders every day who worry, complain, and even cry about the people they are responsible for.
Instead of those thoughts, be thankful. Show appreciation for them.
It’s important to note that appreciation is different from recognition.
Recognition is about the results someone produces.
Business management expert, Tom Peters famously said: “Celebrate what you want to see more of.”
He is correct, but recognition is based only on a person’s performance (important, but not the be all and end all).
Appreciation is much bigger – it’s about who someone is versus what they produce.
It literally means “recognising the value of”.
There was a study done at the University of Berkley about what motivates productivity. What they found was astonishing.
When people felt recognised for the work they did, they were 23 per cent more effective and productive versus when they didn’t.
However, when people felt valued and cared for, they were 43 per cent more productive and effective versus than people who didn’t.
That’s a 20 per cent improvement when people know they’re appreciated.
Take your gratitude to the next level and go beyond recognition and show real appreciation to your team members.
They wake up and choose to come to work every day.
They wake up and bring their whole self to work every day.
Write them a handwritten ‘thank you’ note. In that note, tell them how much you appreciate them for who they are.
The challenges and obstacles you face
Most of the leaders I work with are constantly putting out fires.
While you can’t eliminate all challenges and obstacles, you can control how you handle them.
Author, Mark Miller said it well: “We don’t determine our opportunities, we determine our readiness.”
Be thankful that you are in a position that needs your brain and work ethic.
Instead of getting agitated, complaining, or even getting negative about the next challenge that comes your way, pause right after you hear about it for seven seconds.
During those seven seconds say to yourself, “E + R = O” which means Event + Response = Outcome.
Once you do get good at this seven-second practice, turn your attention to helping someone else develop the skills to be able to solve common problems without your help.
The bad leaders in your life.
Many professionals have had the misfortune of being managed by bad leaders – people that only think about themselves and what’s in their own best interest.
Candidly, it’s sad to think about how many bad leaders still exist in our organisations.
Great leaders use these people in their past to accelerate themselves into the future and you should too.
Instead of complaining about them, turn that adversity into gratitude by being thankful that you now know how you don’t want to lead.
You know what things you want to avoid and not do as a leader when you get the opportunity.
Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said: “You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
I hope you will take his wise words today and be grateful for the adversity you experience in your journey.
*John Eades is the Chief Executive of LearnLoft and author of F.M.L. Standing Out and Being a Leader. He can be followed on instagram @johngeades.
This article first appeared on John’s LearnLoft blog.
