Leading with Gratitude: How Gratitude Can Foster a Positive Workplace
By Rev. Chelsea MacMillan
What qualities come to mind when you think about the characteristics a leader should possess? Power? Competence? Courage?
Those are all admirable qualities in a leader, but what about gratitude?
Gratitude may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about leadership. The myth that leaders should be tough and fearsome has persisted for 500 years, since Machiavelli’s political treatise, The Prince. Fortunately, times have changed in the past five centuries. In business and nonprofit culture, servant leadership is in, and tough, overly demanding bosses are on the way out.
The Center for Creative Leadership lists gratitude as one of its Ten Characteristics and Qualities of a Good Leader. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, feeling valued at work leads to employees feeling more motivated to do their best. In addition to monetary and non-monetary rewards, some specific ways that make workers feel valued are involvement in decision-making, opportunities for growth and advancement, and flexible work arrangements.
Not surprisingly, employees who don’t feel valued are less likely to engage at work and more likely to say they intend to look for a new job.
Efficiency, productivity, and lower attrition rates aside, gratitude can help support a more positive and healthy work environment. Studies have shown that practicing gratitude improves mental health by lowering rates of anxiety and depression, raising self-esteem, and even improving sleep.
So, if you’d like to have well-rested, emotionally balanced, and confident employees in your organization, you might consider incorporating more gratitude into the workplace.
About the Author – Rev. Chelsea MacMillan
Activist, Spiritual Director, WriterÂ
Reverend Chelsea MacMillan is a co-founder of the Brooklyn Center for Sacred Activism and a community builder whose work and play resides in the generative, creative spaces between self and other, humanity as a whole, the earth, and spirit. She believes that no personal transformation is complete without engaging in social transformation, nor is social change complete without a revolution of heart and mind. Chelsea loves singing show tunes, riding her bike around Brooklyn, and geeking out about the Enneagram.
