Gratitude is so important to me. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons including celebrating all in which I have to be grateful. The Porter house plans for the day are football, family and of course food. My son is home which fills my heart. Daughter has signed on as the cruise director for the day, planning fun activities, as well as helping create the tablescape.

My kids always roll their eyes or sigh when I remind them to say please and thank you. These days it seems underrated. To me, gratitude is of the utmost importance.

Gratitude Should Be Expressed Every Day

Recently, a member of my new networking group was celebrating his birthday. He stood up and thanked everyone for the birthday wishes. Then, he proceeded to pass out dessert to everyone in the room. He shared for his birthday that he gives presents to those who have impacted his life. I was stunned. I also was moved at such a selfless gesture and one that I have yet to experience in my life.

Noted, and will be practiced by me annually from now on. Beyond that, I am so thankful for that experience. And I feel very blessed to have that person in my life now. I will be better learning from such a genuine, thoughtful and selfless leader.

Counting My Many Blessings and Giving Gratitude to Them

Personally, I am grateful for my children who wow and challenge me in a good and interesting way almost every day. Plus I have so many Texas and Florida people that lift my family. Thank you to y’all.

In addition, my friends are the best. First, they continue to put up with me. Second, they support me when needed as well as continue to show up whether in the background or foreground.

The Front Porch Team rocks. I don’t know what I did to work with brilliant, collaborative, kind and thoughtful people every day.

I am grateful for our rockin’ clients. Front Porch is only as good as our clients. And ours are outstanding. We have so much gratitude for them as they continue to collaborate with us and allow us to do our best work.

And, then there are our former team members and clients, who continue to engage with us. They keep sending us referrals. Also, they lend support in more ways than one.

Also, don’t know what we would do without our mental health peeps. Wow. I know my kids and I have the best. So thank you for taking care of us.

Last but not least, nonprofits in our community are making a true impact on many fronts. So much gratitude goes out to them. Most recently, for the magic that is The Hope Party benefiting the Grant Halliburton Foundation. The foundation’s work is a critical solution to the mental health for North Texas’ youth.

There are so many things I could drone on about that I am thankful for, but alas I am keeping in mind, dear reader, that your time is limited.

This and Every Thanksgiving, What Are You Thankful For?

We would love for you to share where your gratitude lies this Thanksgiving holiday. I am grateful for so much including those of you reading this blog post. Thank you to each one of you. And Happy Thanksgiving!

We Are Grateful For Our Work and Our Clients

There are blessings aplenty to be grateful for this year. We are coming in hot from several days of a very successful video and photo shoot with an amazing client. Hard work, yes. But we have joy and gratitude for the opportunity to work with smart, collaborative partners. As a bonus, the client’s entire team flew in from Arizona, California, Colorado and Florida. And others drove in from North Texas and Houston.

We worked hard, didn’t play enough. But we are grateful for the positive energy, in-person conversations and teamwork. These people, and the work we are doing together, were inspiring and will get us through the holiday hustle.

In addition, over the past several weeks, our network introduced us to amazing new connections. As well as, we have onboarded rocking’ new clients.

We Are Grateful For Our Team

Moreover, the team is shining. The rock stars are taking on new responsibilities. Jumping in when and where needed. And I won’t get started about our interns. Besides their energy, hard work and great contributions, one is now a master teleprompter engineer.

In addition to blogging about expressing gratitude to your internal team, clients and advocates, here are a few other things to consider. Not rocket surgery or brain science, but we all need refreshers from time to time, right?!?!

How To Show Gratitude To Those You Work With

Determine your key audiences and the best way to communicate gratitude with them using some of the following tactics:

1. Phone calls — As the great Stevie Wonder sang, “I just called to say …” Pick up the phone. Express gratitude to your team, clients and advocates.
2. Emails — A quick thank you with a custom expression of why you are grateful for colleagues, peers, networks and clients.
3. Old fashioned greeting cards — These are a fav of mine. Make sure to include a handwritten, message.
4. Custom holiday cards — Design a branded card or note card. We can help you with that.
5. Handwritten thank you note — Use your branded company stationery to send a few sentences to those who you are grateful for.
6. Zoom or Teams — For those busy folks or those not near, schedule a 15-minute video conference to tell them what they mean to you and your company.
7. Coffee or lunch — Some still prefer face to face meetings. Schedule a few. Make it happen. For introverts like me, this is hard. But they are necessary.

If you want to chat further about how to express gratitude in business, contact us. We would love to help. Cheers to rolling into the hectic holiday season with a thankful heart. We are grateful for you, our readers.

Practicing gratitude as a business leader can be challenging at times. Sometimes it is hard for business leaders to know what to be grateful for because of the many hats we wear, and the myriad of opportunities thrown our way each day. The big stuff often overshadows the tiny pieces of our everyday lives for which we should be grateful.

However, science has shown that regularly practicing gratitude makes you happier. Doing so makes you a better leader, which makes your team happier.

Want to be thankful at a time when it seems impossible?

Consider these things to find an attitude of gratitude:

1. Focus on the here and now. Ask yourself what you are grateful for this very minute. Perhaps it is that you made it safely to work or appreciating your computer didn’t choose this instant to crash.
2. Actively listen to a team member. Take time to truly listen to people when they talk to you, even though your mind is going a million different directions.
3. Each time you talk to a team member, thank them for something. It doesn’t have to be a big something. Acknowledge a nicety they did for a teammate or client. Say a simple thanks for sharing their thoughts with you. Let them know when they brighten your day.
4. Remember your “why.” Consider how the work you do benefits the people for whom you do it. Be thankful you have the opportunity to lead.
   

As a leader, go beyond. Go beyond yourself. Focus on showing thanks to others. Take it beyond Thanksgiving. Focus on practicing gratitude beyond this season of Thanksgiving.. Strive to live a life of gratitude, not just a season.

Julie Porter, Chief Rocker, is grateful for her precious family and their health, Texas high school football and the fabulous Front Porch Marketing team, clients and advocates. She tries to focus on showing gratitude to others daily as often as possible.