To extend our focus on gratitude (which should always be a daily event), I thought I would share a couple of things to thank employees for. Consider these ideas, then add your own. Share your gratitude with your employees. It makes a difference.

Dear employee,
o Thank you for your extra effort at the times when you wanted to go home, give up or take a break.
o Thank you for staying positive when the world around you is so difficult and negative.
o Thank you for your ideas to make us better, even when I forget to ask you what you think.
o Thank you for responding to the needs of your fellow employees – in work and life – without any prompting from management.
o Thank you for insisting on greatness when even we don’t set the example.
o Thank you for working to connect emotionally with our customers and to building great relationships, even though we make you follow some outdated rules.
o Thank you for asking about me and my family, even if I forget to ask about yours.
o Thank you for your loyalty, even in the times where I haven’t earned it.

Gratitude is a greatness encourager. Gratitude allows us the ability to see not just what we have, but to see the value in what we have. Gratitude encourages each of us to reach higher because we feel valued, respected and important. And though we think first of Thanksgiving as a family day, the best workplaces are those that help their employees feel like family.

May you be grateful for your teams, their effort and their wisdom – and may they continue to be part of your workplace family. Happy (Employee) Thanksgiving.

Please share this with someone who can benefit from it and find a way to thank each employee. Be sure to see information on my new book, The Greatness Zone – Know Yourself, Find Your Fit, Transform the World – a great gift for employees to help them discover and live in their “zone” – at www.TheGreatnessZone.com.

So each Friday I focus on something to be thankful for – to realize that there is good out there if I choose to see it, and there are great things always happening – if I choose to see them.

So my encouragement is at least once a week (better if you do it daily) that you identify something to be thankful for – to remind yourself that in spite of tough times, there are always great things to pull you through. The trick is learning to see them.

For me – I am thankful for getting out of my walking boot after 8 weeks following foot surgery. It is amazing how good a shoe feels, how much easier walking is now and I can get back to my exercise plan.

What are you thankful for? And if it involves a person, let them know.