Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/593112
27 EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP ognized for what we do and how we spend our days." How to cultivate gratitude In contemporary American culture, there is a greater propensity for negativi- ty than positivity, which makes cultivating gratitude challenging. However, everyone can develop a true sense of thankfulness if they are willing to put in the effort, accord- ing to Dr. Kamen. Individually, one common method is keeping a gratitude journal and recording experiences and memories you appreci- ate most. According to Dr. Kamen, these experiences can be anything from a great cup of coffee to an aernoon spent with a friend to observing something beautiful in nature. Another method people use to height- en their sense of appreciation is gratitude mediation, in which one enters a relaxed state of mind, engages in deep breathing and for 10-20 seconds concentrates on one thing for which he or she is thankful. In doing so, the short-term experience be- comes a long-term memory, effectively hardwiring appreciation into the brain. Although it is more challenging to cultivate gratitude on a larger, company- wide scale, "the way our society is moving now, it is becoming imperative," says Dr. Kamen. e initiative to develop gratitude in an organization's culture must start from the top down, according to Dr. Kamen. is means the leadership must demon- strate it by making an effort to show appre- ciation to workers in private and public. "e leadership needs to demonstrate it — to live it — rather than just say, 'Here's a bonus because you did well,'" says Dr. Kamen. "Besides working for a paycheck, peoples' jobs are their lives. People want to be seen, acknowledged and appreciated, and when they aren't, there is job dissatis- faction." In fact, receiving explicit appreciation is oen a more powerful motivator than financial incentives (as long as employees are paid fairly). In 2013, roughly 80 per- cent of 2,000 Americans responding to a survey said receiving gratitude made them work harder, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2011, aer analyzing 50 stud- ies, researchers at the London School of Economics published a paper concluding people try their hardest at work if they are interested in the subject matter, if they feel it provides meaning and purpose and if others show appreciation for what they're doing. Kwabena "Bobo" Blankson, MD, a pediatrician with subspecialty training in adolescent medicine and a medical consul- tant with Goodink, a positive psycholo- gy consulting firm, says this is no surprise. "At some point, we seem to figure it out — that being more successful and making more money doesn't actually lead to happiness," says Dr. Blankson. "e op- posite is true: Happiness leads to success. Being appreciated and valued by an em- ployer turns out to be far more important to being a successful employee than being offered a bonus." Ms. Schlichting says she's seen first- hand how much her colleagues and staff appreci- ate a call, note or email thanking them for their work. To give recognition for team achieve- ments, a "thank you" might be delivered in the form of an ice cream party or social event. e health system also gives out individual and team awards — oen during important annual meetings with the board of trustees — to ensure leadership sees and appre- ciates those who work hard. "It's so im- portant to show appreciation and gratitude to people in healthcare because these people are doing amazing and diffi- cult work every day," says Ms. Schlichting. "Not everyone can do jobs in healthcare because of the physical, emotional and in- tellectual challenges involved. Each job is vitally important and nothing is easy." Other ways organizations can show their employees how much they are appre- ciated include creating a blog or newslet- ter featuring employees' achievements and hard work, hosting social outings, catering meals or even giving balloons, Dr. Kamen suggests. Cultivating genuine gratitude takes work. "It is not a technique or a stratagem, but a complex and refined moral disposi- tion," Dr. Burton wrote in an article pub- lished by Psychology Today. While devel- oping a true sense of thankfulness takes deliberate effort, anyone can do so, and it behooves all working people, especially leaders, to try. n