Next Level Blog
Simple, practical, applicable
Take the Thanks Giving Leadership Challenge November 23 2011
As Thanksgiving Day approaches in the United States, here’s a personal leadership challenge that could have an impact long after the turkey leftovers are gobbled up.
If you’re a leader (at work, in the community, at home – it doesn’t matter where), take up the challenge to give your true and sincere thanks to someone who deserves it at least once a week for the next year. Here’s how it works:
1. Every week identify at least one specific thing that someone did for you or that contributed to the cause.
2. Get clear with yourself about why what they did mattered to you or the organization. Come up with at least two or three points about what they did and how they did it. Commit those points to memory.
3. Go talk to that person. If the conversation is in person, square up to them, open up your body language and make good eye contact. If they’re on web cam or the phone, do those things anyway – some of the positive energy will come across over the wires.
4. Thank them for what they did and how they did it. Tell them the difference it made to you. For extra credit, don’t just talk about the impact on results; talk about the positive way it made you feel. Don’t be afraid to make a connection.
5. As you close the thank you, shake their hand, pat them on the back or, if it’s appropriate, give them a hug.
When was the last time the designated leader thanked you in such a way that you really knew they meant it? It felt pretty good, didn’t it? You’ve got the power to do that for others.
Taking the Thanks Giving Challenge is one of those leadership moves that is relatively easy to do and highly likely to make a difference.
If you take it on, please share a story in the comments about how it’s going. What difference is it making to you and your organization? What was the most memorable thank you that you’ve ever received?
Scott Eblin is an executive coach, speaker and author of 
There are certain things you do not realize until you read them, and through your article I have come to realize those few but interesting and effective way to leadership.
Taking the Thanks Giving Challenge is one of those leadership moves that is relatively easy to do and highly likely to make a difference.
Thanks once again!!
Scott,
We hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving celebration. Thank YOU for sharing and encouraging us with the Thanks Giving Leadership Challenge, I accept!
In support of the Challenge, I witnessed a short interview by author Walter Green, “This is the Moment”, http://thisisthemoment.com/, where he shared highlights of his own journey in expressing thanks to those who made a difference in his life. The book may help inspire others who accept the Challenge with tools/ideas, along your 5 steps outlined, to help them execute.
In the spirit of sharing an idea, one approach I have leveraged (when appropriate) is selecting a key team member and writing a personal letter to the parents or closest family member recognizing the accomplishment(s) and thanking “them” for their support and gift of love and/or values which helped the family/ team member accomplish that significant career milestone (i.e. promotion) or for helping make a “quantum leap breakthrough” happen for a particular customer or the business.
Scott, we are all grateful for your continued inspiration, energy and resourceful ideas helping remind us all what is most important in our respective leadership -life journey.
Keep'em coming, Thank You!
Mark
Thanks so much for sharing the resources and ideas Mark. Love your idea about the personal note to a family member of the teammate. Our jobs can be so busy and consuming sometimes that it's easy for family to wonder what in the heck is going on. Getting that personal word of thanks from a leader can do so much for everyone on so many levels.
Cheers –
Scott