Discovering the Magic of Gratitude

I was stressed. 

I was about two months into a three-month stint of filling in for a colleague who was on leave. She had trained me thoroughly before she left, but the tasks I needed to complete had nothing to do with my education, background, and experience. I did my best, but I was in over my head. 

On this particular day, I was struggling to resolve a particularly confusing and irritating problem. I knew people were depending on me to find a solution so they could avoid delays in their work, but it wasn’t coming together.  

I felt bad about myself and my predicament. I assumed everyone was upset with me. Then an amazing thing happened. One of my colleagues contacted me out of the blue to thank me. They said they wanted me to know how much they appreciated the work I was doing, even though it was well outside my wheelhouse, and they ended with a few words of encouragement.

All told, the message was maybe four sentences. But it completely turned my day around.

Instead of feeling frustrated and sorry for myself, I felt seen and appreciated. My attitude improved, and I attacked the thorny problem with renewed vigor. It still took longer than I had hoped to find a solution, but I asked the right people the right questions, and they found the fix.

I’ve written before about the power of kindness, but I think its sibling—gratitude—may be even more powerful.

I recognize that people have different “languages of appreciation” at work. Authors Gary Chapman and Paul White have a book and assessment system related to the five languages they’ve identified: words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, giving tangible gifts, and appropriate physical touch.  

I think their work is excellent, and I am clearly in the “words of affirmation” cohort. But whatever language resonates most with you, we can all agree that feeling appreciated is important to our success in the workplace. When we receive the gratitude of a colleague or supervisor, it helps us feel a sense of accomplishment. That, in turn, leads to greater positivity and engagement. We are revitalized in our work, leading to better results.

Gratitude is magical in that way. It costs almost nothing to thank someone for helping you with a project, completing a difficult task, or doing something even simpler. For a minimal investment of time and effort, you can brighten someone’s day and help them shift their mindset. As a bonus, thanking someone else usually makes you feel better about yourself, too. 

Talk about a win-win!

Of course, sincerity and specificity are important here, as they are in all communication. If you offer a random “thank you” to a colleague without telling them why you’re thanking them, it’s still nice, but it’s not going to have as much impact as it could.

In a previous job, I made a point of contacting each of my team members regularly to thank them for something specific they had done. It didn’t have to be some grand accomplishment, as even little things mean a lot in the workplace. This was incredibly helpful to me as a manager, as it ensured I was taking time to think about and focus on my colleagues’ accomplishments. Writing those brief messages became one of my favorite things to do as a leader, and based on their reactions, I think my team members appreciated it, too.

If you aren’t already experiencing the magic of gratitude in your relationships with your colleagues, I strongly encourage you to see what you can conjure. Offer sincere, specific thanks to someone, and watch what impact it has on you and them. 

Once you’ve experienced the power of gratitude at work, don’t be afraid to do the same with family members and friends, too. 

Unleashing the magical power of gratitude in all our relationships will help us build stronger teams, better businesses, closer families, and a happier world. 

Oh, and thank you for reading this!