Gratitude and Intention for Leadership Success
I’ll be honest with you. I don’t wake up every morning with a spring in my step and an eagerness to serve others. In fact, there are some mornings that I want to roll over, pull up the sheets, snuggle my basenji and let someone else be the boss for the day!
I’ve experienced some of my darkest times as a leader during COVID. Battling negative conversations in my mind about the future of the economy, will our savings run dry if this continues for years, will I have to lay people off if there’s a second wave, will it just be Friday already! Anyone else relate? Bueller, Bueller?
Gratitude: a powerful remedy
All that said, I will share with you a powerful way to remedy a funk and that is by practicing gratitude and setting intentions. I started doing a gratitude journal about four years ago and it is a fantastic way to rebalance and reframe your thinking. At the end of the day, while this year has been a rollercoaster ride, there is still SO much to be grateful for. To start, I won the female lottery - I live in a safe country where my rights are equal to my male counterparts. I’m afforded every opportunity to pursue my goals and dreams. I have access to clean water, healthy food, a loving spouse and a great team. Journaling can certainly help keep all of this in perspective.
Setting intentions at work
While I’ve found journaling to be powerful, I recently started setting out my professional intentions for the day and this have been a gamechanger!
We’re excited to announce that we have developed a journal specifically for leaders.
The idea is to map out a morning of intention which includes: expressing gratitude for your team, thinking about a specific team member you need to appreciate, mapping out a difficult conversation that may need to happen that day and, most importantly, being intentional about the leader you want to be.
The evening portion is all about reflecting on the day. What did you appreciate about the day? Who impressed you today? Did you show up like you intended? You get the idea. Expressing gratitude for the amazing people on your team will help shift your focus from a negative place to a positive one instantly. Being intentional and then rating yourself will bring another level of awareness to your leadership journey.
Check out The Intentional Leader journal on our shop page.
Action steps you can take now!
Whether you use our journal or not, take the time to list at least 3 things you’re grateful for before you start leading your team today. At the end of the day, list 3 ways that your team showed up that either impressed you or that you appreciated. Take it one step further and vocalize your praise or write a personally handwritten note expressing your gratitude.
Your people are desperate to feel engaged, valued and appreciated - and a little thanks in their direction will go a long way!
Share your ideas!
How do you appreciate your team members? Share your ideas below, we would love to hear from you!
