Does An Attitude of Gratitude Help The Bottom Line?

Recently the question was posed in a discussion group I belong to, as to how to develop a culture of gratitude. It made me wonder: Does an attitude of gratitude help the bottom line?

Gratitude and feedback are nearly synonymous. If you receive gratitude from someone, they they are providing positive feedback. The lack of a display of gratitude is also feedback. However, lack of gratitude does not necessarily represent "bad" feedback. It can mean ambivalence to gratitude in general, it can also mean that what you have done is expected, and finally, it could mean that your performance did not meet expectation.

There are some simple rules to giving gratitude that will carry you a long way. First, Show gratitude frequently. My organization has an eCard system that you can use to send a Thank-you internally. Some you can attach dollars to, but most are just a Thank-you and nothing more. The system keeps track of all you send. In 2009, I sent over 150. Some people think that excessive. However, I rarely have difficulty when I need to ask someone for help on an urgent matter to take on an extra assignment.

Second, be specific. You should always specifically state the behavior or task for which you are grateful. The system I use requires no more than 200 characters. This forces me to be brief and specific so it is clear as to what I am grateful for. "Thanks for your help," does not cut it in my book. It is too general. If you state specifically what you are grateful for, you are more likely to have a positive impact. You are also more likely to get the same behavior you recognized when you ask for help again from that individual.

Third, following the first two rules help when you have to deliver an uncomfortable message. Face it; we live in the real world. From time to time we need to coach others on what could have been done differently. These discussions are much easier to digest by those to whom we deliver the message, when you have established a pattern of gratitude. Explaining to someone how to change a behavior or activity to produce better results is much easier to accept if the bearer of the message is frequent and consistent in delivering messages of gratitude.

Fourth, Coach and Challenge others in your organization to do the same. Life is usually not made of step changes. As a matter of fact, step changes typically represent something bad that has happened in our lives. The positive things we see in our lives come from positive incremental change, (http://findingfault.blogspot.com/2010/01/door-to-change-swings-on-small-hinges.html). If you work on developing an attitude and behaviors that reflect gratitude, others will notice. Of those others, someone will adopt the same behaviors. Others will notice, and of those others someone, perhaps some others, will adopt the same behaviors. Eventually you will have critical mass in your organization and voila! You have cultivated gratitude in the workplace.

A culture of gratitude is one that values the individual and values results. A culture of gratitude is more collaborative and more productive. A culture of gratitude has a higher probability that it will resolve conflict and position itself on a more competitive footing.

Does and attitude of gratitude help the bottom line? Please...

...Help me understand where the down side is!