Last year at Thanksgiving, we started a new family tradition: a Gratitude Jar. Everyone wrote one to three gratitude notes, each expressing appreciation for another family member. During Thanksgiving dinner, we took turns reading these notes out loud and guessing who wrote them. This simple act created an environment of love and appreciation, making us feel even more connected. 

Gratitude is at the top of our mind at Thanksgiving when we are eating turkey with our families, but who has time for gratitude in today's fast-paced, competitive business environment?  We need to focus on results, right?  

Benefits of Practicing Gratitude

Our bodies are incredible drug-making machines.  When we practice gratitude, we produce our own drugs:

•    Oxytocin: Known as the "love hormone," oxytocin helps deepen relationships and reduces blood pressure.
•    Dopamine: Enhances mood and reduces pain.
•    Serotonin: Also enhances mood and reduces pain.

Practicing gratitude can also reduce the stress hormone cortisol and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body rest and digest.

Here are seven scientifically backed benefits of gratitude.  Gratitude ...

1.    Opens the door to more relationships.
2.    Improves physical health.
3.    Improves psychological health.
4.    Enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
5.    Helps you sleep better.
6.    Improves self-esteem.
7.    Increases mental strength.

Gratitude in Business

OK, that is great, but how does gratitude relate to business?  

Decades ago, business owners operated in a "buyer's market" regarding employees.  There were more available workers than there were jobs, giving business owners more control.  Employees were treated as numbers - "You get paid to do a job; just do it." However, the roles have reversed. Today, employees have a choice of where to work.  I often hear business owners lament that "it's hard to find good people these days."  True. For this reason, and because I philosophically believe it's the right thing to do, we must create an environment where people want to come to work—a place where employees feel valued and empowered to reach their full potential.

For our company, our passion is to help every life we touch achieve their full potential, and we want to be the best place any of our team members will ever work.  We codify this in what we call the Johnstone Supply Orion Group Life: 

•    Love what you do.
•    With people you enjoy.
•    Being compensated appropriately.
•    Where I am recognized for making an impact.
•    Opportunities for growth and development.
•    With time for other passions.

Gratitude relates to "with people you enjoy" and "where I am recognized for making an impact."  

With People You Enjoy

Gratitude helps build trust and a stronger team.  In Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team, the foundation of a strong team is "vulnerability-based trust."  Expressing gratitude makes us vulnerable and authentic, which in turn leads to stronger bonds and trust between individuals. When we are grateful for the people in our lives, we are more likely to trust them, and in turn, they are more likely to trust us.

Business success is a result of strong relationships and high-trust teams. From Lencioni, "Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare."

Where I Am Recognized For Making An Impact

The common zeitgeist is that Millennials and Gen Z want lots of participation trophies.  While I don't believe this is true, I do believe that everyone wants to be recognized for their contribution.  Expressing gratitude is a way of recognizing employees for their contributions. 

Shawn Achor wrote in Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being, “Praise creates what I call a ‘virtuous cycle’ — the more you give, the more you enhance your own supply. When done right, praise primes the brain for higher performance, which means that the more we praise, the more success we create. And the more successes there are, the more there is to praise. The research I’ve been doing over the past five years shows that the more you can authentically shine praise on everyone in your ecosystem, the more your potential, individually and collectively, rises.”

How To Practice Gratitude In Business Meetings

Our Leadership Team has rituals that we use at the start and end of each meeting to harness the power of our brains and bodies to improve our relationships and our meetings.

At the start of each meeting, we each share a personal and professional "best."  This is similar to engagement specialist Clint Swindall's concept of "Tell me somethin' good."  This puts us in a positive, problem-solving frame of mind as we start the meeting.  It serves as a frame-interrupt from whatever chaos and challenges we may have been dealing with as we change gears and begin our meeting.

At the end of each meeting, we share something we are grateful for.  This could be related to the team, to the business, or in our personal lives.  This, of course, helps to trigger all the scientific benefits we already shared and create stronger bonds and relationships between us.  No matter how complex or contentious the meeting is, ending the meeting with gratitude allows us to end on a positive note.  It also requires a bit of vulnerability to truly share what we are grateful for, which helps us build vulnerability-based trust.

Be a Good Finder

Be a good finder and "catch" people doing extraordinary things.  Often, we feel it is our role as managers to point out what people are doing wrong. Positive recognition is even more powerful and motivating. Small gestures with employees can go a long way. Recognize them by:

•    Sharing verbal appreciation. Remember TSP: Truthful, Specific, and Positive.
•    Sending a thank you card. How often do we receive real mail these days? Mailed cards are memorable.
•    Texts, video messages, and calls are also great ways to show appreciation for employees.

Who is someone in your life who played a pivotal role at a crucial crossroads? During a Connection Hike with Bart Foster of BusinessOutside, we discussed this question. Bart then challenged us to find a quiet spot and record a selfie video thanking that person for the impact they had on us. Then, send the video to the person. Many find this challenging to do, but the positive impact on both the sender and the receiver is enormous. 

Conclusion

As we enjoy our turkey dinners, it's a great time to reflect on how gratitude can be more than just an annual practice. Gratitude is more than just a pleasantry; it's a powerful tool that can transform your life and your business. By fostering a culture of gratitude, you can build stronger relationships, improve employee satisfaction and create a more positive work environment. This leads to greater business success. In today's competitive landscape, where employees have the choice of where to work, creating an environment of gratitude can be a critical differentiator that sets your business apart. Take the time to regularly practice gratitude and watch as your business and relationships flourish. 

Ryan Kalmbach is the CEO of Johnstone Orion Distribution with 12 locations and 125 employees in California. He has more than 20 years of experience in operating a family distribution business. The core passion at The Orion Group is to partner with its customers and employees to help them to grow. Contact Ryan at https://www.powerofjsog.com/.