Sharin’ The Love Pays Off

In the immortal words of Elvis Presley, “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Do you believe thanking your co-workers or showing gratitude for their work is coddling them? Many studies find that appreciation is rarely shown in the workplace, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. It’s not being expressed between managers and subordinates, or between co-workers. The fact that you receive a paycheck is often considered thanks enough.

A recent survey on gratitude funded by the John Templeton Foundation found that 74 percent of employees never or rarely express gratitude to their boss but are eager to have a boss who expresses it to them. If their boss were more grateful, 70 percent would feel better about themselves and 81 percent say they’d work harder. Even more interesting, 94 percent of women and 96 percent of men agree that a grateful boss is more likely to be successful. And yet, we don’t do it.

One of the hallmarks of a quantum leader is experiencing and expressing gratitude. Quantum physics demonstrates that everything is entangled with everything else through inter-connected energy fields – even people. This shared energy creates context and relationships. In fact, our thoughts, beliefs, words, narratives, and actions directly affect energy fields – making them literally fields of potentiality in which we’re co-creating. Through this shared energy and context, the sum of the whole – the organization – is greater than the sum of its parts – the individual employees.

By showing appreciation, you literally share positive energy, thus strengthening the relationship and creating an even greater whole – a stronger organization.  A stronger, healthier organization will produce a stronger, healthier bottom line.

So, in the words of Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager, catch someone doing something right. Sincerely express appreciation to them. Then you’ll appreciate the results.

Print Friendly