7 New Year’s Resolutions for Grateful (and Potentially Grateful) Leaders

if_not_now_2beditedTraditionally, the idea of a “meeting” is to gather a group for a specific purpose, whether it be business-related or otherwise. But let’s be honest…attention is not always 100%. Some people check and send text messages (I feel these people need forgiveness and behavioral therapy, if not recovery programs), others daydream or think of shopping lists, and some, like artist Michael Indorato, sketch.

During a recent meeting, Michael’s unconscious heard the words “if not now, then when?” Almost immediately, his artistic spirit was moved and inspired to create the drawing you see to the left. I happened to see his sketch at the end of the very same meeting, and asked him if he thought it could apply to Acknowledgment. To my delight, he was in total alignment with this, and added that heading to the sketch for all of us to consider and (hopefully) take to heart.

I truly believe that as 2013 ends and the New Year approaches, we MUST take this message to heart. In fact, I believe it is the cornerstone of the following 7 New Year’s Resolutions for Grateful (or Potentially Grateful) Leaders. So here they are:

1. Acknowledgment: If not now, then when? Don’t keep those wonderfully positive thoughts and words about a team member, a family member or a community leader to yourself. Do it now – give them the gift of acknowledgment! It is your gold to give away, but has no value if you keep it to yourself. Acknowledgment is the foundation of Grateful Leadership.

2. Show Gratitude and Appreciation on a Daily Basis: People can’t survive, let alone thrive, without feeling they are valued and appreciated. Good people leave good jobs due to lack of appreciation. Don’t let that happen where you can make the difference.

3. Lead the Change You Want to See: Each person is the “yeast” that can “leaven an entire loaf,” according to Stephen R. Covey. Let it be you who transforms your team, your department or your entire organization into a culture of appreciation. Yes, the support of others is wonderful and helpful in this initiative, but you CAN do it on your own. Model the behavior, get the results and people will start wondering how this is happening and start practicing what you are demonstrating.

4. Be Persistent: Gratitude does not have to come naturally to a leader in order for them to practice it in a meaningful way. Be grateful for the opportunity to lead, for the people who have chosen to work with us, or for the unique talents and gifts of each individual on a daily basis.

5. Acknowledge ANYONE: There is no scarcity of people to acknowledge, for who they are and what they contribute. When I receive great service and tell the provider about this, I still hear comments like, “Thank you for thanking me! No one ever does that,” or “I only hear complaints, and never hear compliments, so you have no idea how much this means to me.” It makes me sad that the world still looks like this. So start practicing the giving of deserved acknowledgments wherever you go – in all spheres of your life. Your gratitude for these opportunities and the people who provide them will grow and inspire others.

6. Recognize the Importance of Feeling Valued: People perform their best when feeling valued and appreciated. It seems the opposite is also true. I recall a funny example of the latter on the wonderful HBO series, “Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” based on the book by Alexander McCall Smith. One episode featured a chef who was wooed out of great position (at a place he felt entirely appreciated and acknowledged) by a wealthy patron who asked him to work as the family chef. After accepting, the chef quickly began hating his new job working for the family, feeling unappreciated for his fine culinary skills. He began to “lightly” poison the food with the hopes that the family would become very ill but not die.

As the family blamed the husband’s two competing wives, the Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency discovered it was the chef who poisoned the food. And why did he do this? Well, it appears he was doing everything possible to leave the job where he was never acknowledged! His desire to return to the job in which he was fully appreciated and acknowledged, and loved so much, was far greater than the pay he was receiving from the family.

While this is an extreme “case,” people are truly yearning to feel valued and will do just about anything, or go anywhere, to make this happen.

7. Stop NOW and Acknowledge: If not now, then when? I return to the place we started, because this is the essence of Grateful Leadership. Right here, right now, stop what you are doing and acknowledge someone. It can be a team member, a CEO (some of the least acknowledged people in the workplace), a janitor or a security guard. It can be your mother-in-law or your child, a coffee server or a UPS delivery person. People want your gift of acknowledgment. Do it now! If not now, when?  And I acknowledge all of you for joining us at IIL on this exciting and challenging journey, which will make the world a far better home for us all in the coming years.

As we end this year and start the new one, make it your #1 New Year’s Resolution to be or become a Grateful Leader, with all that this entails. It will change your life and that of all with whom you interact.

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*Michael Indorato (www.indorato.com) has been creating works of art for the past 18 years and publicly showing in New York City for the past 5. He’s always reaching to innovate his style and process while still preserving the undeniable INDORATO presence in his work. His creative philosophy is simple: each work is a quest to capture the Divine pattern and endless cycle which has no beginning and has no end. “To see my work is like going on a journey, sometimes gliding through rolling hills; others are more like riding a wild roller coaster.” The goal is to allow the viewer to become the artist, to daydream, to fall into the work. Recently he designed a flying painter contraption which allows him to create while hovering above the canvas, dripping and spinning paint in circular rhythms. This process is completely conducive to his style and philosophy and it’s fun to watch! He has a studio in Asbury Park NJ.