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!
5 Comments
Kenneth Morton
October 17, 2016 at 2:23 pmAn heartfelt “thank you” is one of the most under used success tools. Amazingly inexpensive, yet priceless!
Annette Harris
October 17, 2016 at 2:53 pmThe power of a “thank you” has an unbelievable impact, yet as you have alluded is underutilized. I do my best to be deliberate in saying thank you as much as possible.in both my personal and professional life. Thank you 🙂 for sharing this post Patrick!
Dale Richardson
October 17, 2016 at 8:33 pmHi Annette,
It’s awesome to hear that you are being deliberate and intentional about saying thank you as much as possible. A sincere thank you goes a long way in building lasting connections with our friends, family, coworkers, etc. I’d love for you to let me know what you think about my take on the same concept. Patrick included a link to my podcast at the end of his blog post. I sincerely appreciate every listen I get so Thank You in advance for listening Annette!
Dale Richardson
Live The Goals Podcast
Dale Richardson
October 17, 2016 at 8:30 pmHi Kenneth,
You are so correct! A “thank you” is so inexpensive and priceless at the same time. I’d love to hear your feedback on my take on the same word. Patrick included the link above at the end of his post! And Thank You for taking the time to comment on this post and in advance for listening to my podcast.
Dale Richardson
Live The Goals Podcast
Chad Montague
October 17, 2016 at 5:53 pmA simple, hand written thank you note is still one of the classier ways to express gratitude in a memorable and personal fashion. People appreciate the time and effort behind this simple gesture.