The influential New York Times bestselling authorsāthe āapostles of appreciationā Chester Elton and Adrian Gostickāprovide managers and executives with easy ways to add more gratitude to the everyday work environment to help bolster moral, efficiency, and profitability.
Workers want and need to know their work is appreciated. Showing gratitude to employees is the easiest, fastest, most inexpensive way to boost performance. New research shows that gratitude boosts employee engagement, reduces turnover, and leads team members to express more gratitude to one anotherāstrengthening team bonds. Studies have also shown that gratitude is beneficial for those expressing it and is one of the most powerful variables in predicting a personās overall well-beingāabove money, health, and optimism. The WD-40 Company knows this firsthand. When the leadership gave thousands of managers training in expressing gratitude to their employees, the company saw record increases in revenue.
Despite these benefits, few executives effectively utilize this simple tool. In fact, new research reveals āpeople are less likely to express gratitude at work than anyplace else.ā What accounts for the staggering chasm between awareness of gratitudeās benefits and the failure of so many leaders to do itāor do it well? Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton call this the gratitude gap. In this invaluable guide, they identify the widespread and pernicious myths about managing others that cause leaders to withhold thanks.
Gostick and Elton also introduce eight simple ways managers can show employees they are valued. They supplement their insights and advice with stories of how many of todayās most successful leadersāsuch as Alan Mulally of Ford and Hubert Joly of Best Buyāsuccessfully incorporated gratitude into their leadership styles.
Showing gratitude isnāt just about being nice, itās about being smartāreally smartāand itās a skill that everyone can easily learn.