Thanksgiving Day – A Time for Expressing Gratitude
Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Jim Bruce, Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates, and Professor of Electrical Engineering, Emeritus, and CIO, Emeritus, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. Jim may be reached at [email protected] or via LinkedIn.
Two days from today is a day designed as Thanksgiving Day by Act of the U.S. Congress. This holiday began when the Mayflower Pilgrims and the native Wampanoag ate together in 1621 at the end of the harvest. It was likely not a very big deal, a routine English harvest celebration. What was the big deal, though less remembered, was the peace treaty, signed seven months earlier, that formed the peaceful relationship between the new settlers and the Wampanoag that lasted for 50 years.
Today, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. Before 1941, Thanksgiving was not a fixed date on the calendar but whenever the President proclaimed it to be. President George Washington was the first to issue a proclamation for the holiday in 1789, designating Thursday, November 26, “for the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving.” This proclamation marked the first national celebration of the holiday under the new Constitution.
Over these intervening years, this nation has annually celebrated Thanksgiving in many ways. There have been church services on Thanksgiving mornings, informal public gatherings, and family dinners, as my family will hold that day. Unfortunately, many of us have permitted these celebrations to be hijacked by football games and the arrival of the Christmas shopping season.
Key in any Thanksgiving celebration is the concept of gratitude for all we have been provided. Although I didn’t appreciate the word “gratitude” then, I remember how happy I was when my grandfather gave me a penny to buy a piece of candy at the local store we had just walked to. (That would have been in the early 1940s when a penny was real money, worth something.) Robert Emmons, University of California, Davis psychologist and author on gratitude, says, “Feeling gratitude starts with the realization of what we have received from others and what it has cost them.”
One of the most important places to express gratitude is in the workplace. In “The Importance of Gratitude at Work,” Nicole Kemp writes, “When our batteries are constantly being drained at work, we start to slow down – and if they never get charged, we’ll eventually turn off altogether. Sometimes, a simple gesture of gratitude or a sincere thank you for your efforts can give us the boost we need.”
Research in the Harvard Business Review indicates that gratitude improves well-being, reduces stress, and builds resilience. People are more willing to help others who have shown them gratitude. Kemp suggests several ways to show your appreciation to colleagues and direct reports:
- Express your appreciation directly, even making a special trip to the individual’s workspace (if you work together in-person). This doesn’t require a lengthy “speech,” just a quick comment along the lines of “I appreciated our interaction yesterday,” or “I found your comments in the meeting yesterday particularly helpful, because . …”. Taking the effort to find the individual and have a conversation amplifies the value of the comment. Significantly.
- Have a telephone conversation with the individual.
- Send a handwritten note. One company I once worked with gave cards with a rainbow and the phrase “You Made My Day” for individuals to write a note to a colleague they wanted to congratulate. These often ended up posted on the wall above the individual’s desk.
- Send an email or a text. Less direct and impactful but important and appreciated.
- Some organizations use an app like 15Five to collect comments of gratitude and recognition.
What’s most important is showing sincere appreciation, whether from a colleague to a peer, from a manager to a staff member, or from a staff member to a manager.
Heidi Grant, a social psychologist, also recommends keeping your “thank yous” and gratitude focused on the individual you praise. Too often, we begin to slip and end up focusing part of the conversation on what we might have done.
The employee-manager relationship is critical to the employee experience and the top driver of engagement. So, the employee must hear from their manager that they are appreciated.
Everyone is pressed for time, and it is very easy to forget to say “thank you” or other words of appreciation. Perhaps you might take a few minutes at the end of each day to list those individuals you want to thank and keywords to help you remember what you plan to say. Then, when you come in the following day, plan how you will act on the list, whether it’s writing a note, dropping by a desk, etc., and integrate these actions into your day.
Just remember, take action.
On behalf of MOR Associates, we hope that you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving. . . . . . jim
- December 2024 (2)
- November 2024 (4)
- October 2024 (5)
- September 2024 (4)
- August 2024 (4)
- July 2024 (5)
- June 2024 (4)
- May 2024 (4)
- April 2024 (5)
- March 2024 (4)
- February 2024 (4)
- January 2024 (5)
- December 2023 (3)
- November 2023 (4)
- October 2023 (5)
- September 2023 (4)
- August 2023 (4)
- July 2023 (4)
- June 2023 (4)
- May 2023 (5)
- April 2023 (4)
- March 2023 (1)
- January 2023 (4)
- December 2022 (3)
- November 2022 (5)
- October 2022 (4)
- September 2022 (4)
- August 2022 (5)
- July 2022 (4)
- June 2022 (4)
- May 2022 (5)
- April 2022 (4)
- March 2022 (5)
- February 2022 (4)
- January 2022 (4)
- December 2021 (3)
- November 2021 (4)
- October 2021 (3)
- September 2021 (4)
- August 2021 (4)
- July 2021 (4)
- June 2021 (5)
- May 2021 (4)
- April 2021 (4)
- March 2021 (5)
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (4)
- December 2020 (4)
- November 2020 (4)
- October 2020 (6)
- September 2020 (5)
- August 2020 (4)
- July 2020 (7)
- June 2020 (7)
- May 2020 (5)
- April 2020 (4)
- March 2020 (5)
- February 2020 (4)
- January 2020 (4)
- December 2019 (2)
- November 2019 (4)
- October 2019 (4)
- September 2019 (3)
- August 2019 (3)
- July 2019 (2)
- June 2019 (4)
- May 2019 (3)
- April 2019 (5)
- March 2019 (4)
- February 2019 (3)
- January 2019 (5)
- December 2018 (2)
- November 2018 (4)
- October 2018 (5)
- September 2018 (3)
- August 2018 (3)
- July 2018 (4)
- June 2018 (4)
- May 2018 (5)
- April 2018 (4)
- March 2018 (5)
- February 2018 (5)
- January 2018 (3)
- December 2017 (3)
- November 2017 (4)
- October 2017 (5)
- September 2017 (3)
- August 2017 (5)
- July 2017 (3)
- June 2017 (8)
- May 2017 (5)
- April 2017 (4)
- March 2017 (4)
- February 2017 (4)
- January 2017 (4)
- December 2016 (2)
- November 2016 (7)
- October 2016 (5)
- September 2016 (8)
- August 2016 (5)
- July 2016 (4)
- June 2016 (12)
- May 2016 (5)
- April 2016 (4)
- March 2016 (7)
- February 2016 (4)
- January 2016 (10)
- December 2015 (4)
- November 2015 (6)
- October 2015 (4)
- September 2015 (7)
- August 2015 (5)
- July 2015 (6)
- June 2015 (12)
- May 2015 (4)
- April 2015 (6)
- March 2015 (10)
- February 2015 (4)
- January 2015 (4)
- December 2014 (3)
- November 2014 (5)
- October 2014 (4)
- September 2014 (6)
- August 2014 (4)
- July 2014 (4)
- June 2014 (4)
- May 2014 (5)
- April 2014 (5)
- March 2014 (5)
- February 2014 (4)
- January 2014 (5)
- December 2013 (5)
- November 2013 (5)
- October 2013 (10)
- September 2013 (4)
- August 2013 (5)
- July 2013 (8)
- June 2013 (6)
- May 2013 (4)
- April 2013 (5)
- March 2013 (4)
- February 2013 (4)
- January 2013 (5)
- December 2012 (3)
- November 2012 (4)
- October 2012 (5)
- September 2012 (4)
- August 2012 (4)
- July 2012 (5)
- June 2012 (4)
- May 2012 (5)
- April 2012 (4)
- March 2012 (4)
- February 2012 (4)
- January 2012 (4)
- December 2011 (3)
- November 2011 (5)
- October 2011 (4)
- September 2011 (4)
- August 2011 (4)
- July 2011 (4)
- June 2011 (5)
- May 2011 (5)
- April 2011 (3)
- March 2011 (4)
- February 2011 (4)
- January 2011 (4)
- December 2010 (3)
- November 2010 (4)
- October 2010 (4)
- September 2010 (3)
- August 2010 (5)
- July 2010 (4)
- June 2010 (5)
- May 2010 (4)
- April 2010 (3)
- March 2010 (2)
- February 2010 (4)
- January 2010 (4)
- December 2009 (4)
- November 2009 (4)
- October 2009 (4)
- September 2009 (4)
- August 2009 (3)
- July 2009 (3)
- June 2009 (3)
- May 2009 (4)
- April 2009 (4)
- March 2009 (2)
- February 2009 (3)
- January 2009 (3)
- December 2008 (3)
- November 2008 (3)
- October 2008 (3)
- August 2008 (3)
- July 2008 (4)
- May 2008 (2)
- April 2008 (2)
- March 2008 (2)
- February 2008 (1)
- January 2008 (1)
- December 2007 (3)
- November 2007 (3)
- October 2007 (3)
- September 2007 (1)
- August 2007 (2)
- July 2007 (4)
- June 2007 (2)
- May 2007 (3)
- April 2007 (1)
- March 2007 (2)
- February 2007 (2)
- January 2007 (3)
- December 2006 (1)
- November 2006 (1)
- October 2006 (1)
- September 2006 (3)
- August 2006 (1)
- June 2006 (2)
- April 2006 (1)
- March 2006 (1)
- February 2006 (1)
- January 2006 (1)
- December 2005 (1)
- November 2005 (2)
- October 2005 (1)
- August 2005 (1)
- July 2005 (1)
- April 2005 (2)
- March 2005 (4)
- February 2005 (2)
- December 2004 (1)