Thanksgiving and Gratitude
Gratitude can be a powerful force for companies of any size
Happy Thursday, 👋
Over a year ago we began publishing every other Thursday, so this year that day happens to be Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is a day of reflection for what we are thankful for from the year. There are a few lessons companies big and small can take away from today but before we get into those let’s explore a bit of how we ended up here.
US Politics and Thanksgiving
Almost 160 years ago, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the celebration of Thanksgiving for all states to occur on the last Thursday in November. The proclamation was not Lincoln’s suggestion but instead the result of Sarah Hale spending years petitioning for a national holiday. She maintained a writing campaign covering five presidents before finally making progress with Lincoln. Although Hale may be considered the mother of Thanksgiving, she is more well known for writing the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.
Years later in 1939 Franklin Roosevelt attempted to stimulate the economy and moved Thanksgiving one week earlier in hopes of increasing the Christmas shopping season. It was not well-received and caused confusion as people were not sure which day to celebrate. Eventually Roosevelt reversed his decision and in 1941 signed a resolution returning Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November.
Team Gratefulness
Understanding a bit of history helps us appreciate today and makes us grateful for the perseverance of Sarah Hale’s writing campaign. If she had decided to give up, we may not have Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
Building a company culture starts with understanding its history. Every company big or small has a history which may involve stories of failures similar to Roosevelt’s attempt at moving Thanksgiving or successes such as Hale’s writing campaign. Each of these stories bind the company employees together and develop a culture through shared experiences.
Adding an element of gratitude to a company culture further reinforces positive team dynamics. The shift toward virtual organizations has removed the constant physical and visual cues employees previously used to navigate team dynamics. Developing a conscious effort to express gratitude can bridge the virtual gaps as a display of gratefulness toward one person often has ripple effects throughout a team regardless of location.
How To Show Gratitude?
Founders or managers who suddenly find themselves leading a team of people for the first time are often surprised when sending a one word email response saying “thanks” backfires and leads to unexpected resentment when an employee views it as dismissive. Building a culture of gratitude requires a realization of how each person has a different perception of gratitude.
Years ago Gary Chapman published The Five Love Languages as a guide for couples to develop a better understanding of each other. The overwhelming success of the book led Chapman to write a similar book for the professionals titled The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. The “Workplace” version outlines how the act of making employees feel appreciated is often very different depending on the person. Showing gratitude does not need to be an involved process but it does need to be about a specific action to make it genuine. Some team members may thrive on having their name mentioned during a company-wide town hall while others prefer just a quick thank-you email.
The 5 Languages of Appreciation outlined in Chapman’s Workplace book include:
👏 Words of Affirmation. Telling someone they did a great job or saying thanks may not always be the best approach. Adding context makes it more genuine such as “I appreciate the work you did perfecting the presentation. Without your help we would have never closed the sale.”
⌚ Quality Time. In a world of increasingly remote work, some employees feel valued when their manager offer to meet them for lunch every few weeks.
👷♂️ Acts of Service. Recognizing someone may be overwhelmed and offering to take on some of their work can be a way to acknowledge their workload and contribution to the team.
🎁 Tangible Gifts. Small gifts for successful completion of a project can show employees they are part of the team. The best gifts are those which indicate an understanding of individual preferences. Giving a bottle of wine to someone who does not drink is not the best way to show someone they are appreciated.
🤝 Physical Touch. Coming out of Covid, recognize which employees prefer no contact, a handshake, or a fist bump. Acknowledging this preference conveys to employees they are recognized as individuals and their preferences are valued.
Learning which specific language of gratitude resonates with each team member may take time to develop but eventually leads to increased communication and trust across organizations regardless of proximity.
Since today is a day of celebrating gratefulness, we felt it was an ideal time to reflect on why company executives and founders should consider applying ideas from Thanksgiving into their own management style. Research has shown positive attention can be 30 times more powerful than negative attention as it helps people realize their strengths and lets them know their work matters to the team.
What We Are Reading: Thanksgiving Trivia and Turkey Respect
🦃 Although the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade may be the most watched, the oldest Thanksgiving Day parade is in Philadelphia. The Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia held its initial parade in 1920, four years earlier than the first Macy’s parade.
🦅 Benjamin Franklin thought the Bald Eagle on the original Great Seal of the US looked more like a Turkey, a bird which he greatly respected more than the eagle.
We have coached several companies on how to better improve employee engagement and we work with start-ups to develop more cohesive teams in an increasingly remote environment. Let us know if you or your team is curious to learn more about our work advising companies big and small.
Thank you to all our new readers as our newsletter family continues to grow. If you know someone who might be interested in our discussions, let them know about us as we always enjoy having more smart readers join us every few weeks.
Wishing everyone a great weekend.
-The Caymont Team.