The ABC’s of Leadership (Day 1): Appreciate

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. (John C. Maxwell)

Day 1 – ‘A’

ABCs of Leadership (Appreciate)

Remember how good it felt that time no one said thank you? Or do you remember when your contribution to the team was minimized? NOT!

In the Harvard Gazette‘s  ‘The Power of Thanks’, Harvard professor Dr. Francesca Gino noted that “receiving expressions of gratitude makes us feel a heightened sense of self-worth, and that in turn triggers other helpful behaviors toward both the person we are helping and other people, too.”

Seems like a common sense thing to do, but it’s amazing how often in our 24x7x365, digital world, we forget the value of a simple ‘thank you’.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou)

So, do the small thing, that makes a big impact: take time to show that people’s efforts matter, and are appreciated – even, and especially if/when, they fail!

Want more on leadership? Check out my partner Dale Richardson’s thoughts in his Live the Goals podcast here!

“The ABC’s of Leadership” is a web series highlighting principles of leadership.

Each day, we’ll highlight a new focus area and concept.  Done in partnership with Dale Richardson, a Podcast Host and John Maxwell Team certified speaker, trainer and coach, we’ll also offer a podcast exploring each idea further.

Tune in daily!