Leaders Start with Gratitude

We have a bedtime ritual with our four year old:

1. Brush teeth
2. Practice letters/numbers
3. Read a book
4. Say one thing we are thankful for from that day
5. Prayer

Although all of them are important for various reasons, number 4 seems to be the one that never gets left out. Sometimes we are all tired and don’t want to practice letters or numbers or read a book. Sometimes we even forget to brush our teeth (maybe that goes back to being too tired) and even pray, but regardless of where we are, what time it is, or how long of a day it has been, our 4 year old will not let anyone go to bed without us all answering the question “What are you thankful for?”

This ritual started out one November, when giving thanks was on the brain and we had a Thanksgiving countdown calendar hung in his room where we decided to fill out a thankfulness card every day.   The concept stuck.   And although the answer to the question “What are you thankful for?” vary, we’ve seen from the lense of a pre-schooler that expressing thankfulness or gratitude is just about the best way to end a day.

I wonder how often leaders stop and think, “What am I thankful for today?” Taking the concept a step further, how many leaders express that gratitude to others? We often find that our thankfulness list isn’t made up of things or events (although our little one does throw in a thankfulness plug to his new Paw Patrol toy or his trip to the ice cream store every once in a while), it is usually people or something a person did.

As a personal leadership habit, I’d like to challenge us all to do two simple things everyday:

1. Identify one thing/person/event you are thankful for
2. If a person is tied to what you are thankful for, tell them that day that you are grateful for them and why and consider how you might uniquely express your gratitude based on what holds value to them.

Just like any good behavior, if we do it often enough to make it a habit, it ends up rubbing off on others. You can’t make members of your team or those you lead establish an attitude of gratitude, but you can do it yourself. And when you establish this personal leadership habit, I’d venture to guess others around you will start doing it too.

Our four year old won’t let my husband and I go to bed without ending the day by saying what we’re thankful for and it is all because he won’t let himself go to bed either without expressing his gratitude too.

What are you thankful for today?