Leading with Gratitude with Chester Elton
Chester Elton is a speaker, coach, mentor and best-selling author at Gostick & Elton, as well as a partner and the Founder of “The Culture Works.” His most recent book, Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results, is the topic of discussion in this week’s episode as he joins Kevin Monroe to talk about gratitude and recognition.
Gratitude
Kevin believes gratitude makes a huge difference in times of calm, crisis, or chaos. Chester adds that we often get caught up in the moment and forget to take a longer view. Even during the chaos of current events, there are many amazing things in your life that you could be grateful for. And when put in perspective, they give you the strength and momentum to overcome hard times, and the opportunity to deepen the relationships you have with people.
Feeling Forgotten
There’s nothing worse, in both the workplace and especially in one’s personal life, than feeling forgotten, Chester says. Nothing connects people more than simple acts of reaching out, such as texts saying ‘I love you’, which affirm feelings of value and importance. People are less likely to express gratitude at work than any place else; consequently, people are more likely to feel forgotten at work. Saying ‘thank you’ in the workplace is the moral equivalent of saying ‘I love you’ in your personal life, Chester adds. A study shows that 82% of people will work harder if their boss expresses gratitude. Gratitude creates feelings of belonging.
Leading with Gratitude
Gratitude attracts gratitude, Chester says. When you’re happy, engaged and motivated at work, you are 150% more likely to be the same way in your personal life. The goal of Chester’s book is to create great workplaces which have that ripple effect into homes and communities. It’s so we can take our best selves home after taking our best selves to work.
Kevin says a sincere ‘thank you’ never gets old, to which Chester adds that general praise has no impact, and specificity is meaningful. In showing gratitude to your employees, you must remember that what works for one person may not work for someone else, which is why it’s important to know your people. Not only must the expression of gratitude be appropriate to the person, it should also be appropriate to the accomplishment.
Find Your Gratitude
Kevin and Chester extend a special invitation for listeners to participate in a new collaborative project. Find out more at FindYourGratitude.community.
Resources
Chester Elton on LinkedIn | Twitter
Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results
Kevin Monroe on LinkedIn | Twitter
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111Join the community: KevinDMonroe.com/decade