Gratitude Can Help Your Career Flourish

Gratitude Can Help Your Career Flourish

Business is all about relationships and showing gratitude to your peers and clients can go a long way in strengthening those relationships, particularly in a socially distant world.

“As our modern business model shifts from transactional to relationship, gratitude and appreciation emerge not only as life skills but as business skills,” writes Jamie Broderick, a business coach, for Entrepreneur.com. Making others feel valued and heard can help foster loyal relationships with your clients as well as others in the industry. It’ll also help others to want to praise you to others, possibly expanding your referral base.

Broderick says gratitude can be taught as a business skill. Even seemingly small gestures can have a big impact, she says. For example, she emphasizes the impact of handwritten thank you notes. The personal touch can stand out to others. She urges business leaders to craft more handwritten notes of thanks to their sphere.

Don’t just thank clients. She also encourages business leaders to consider thanking those who speak to your organization or who go above and beyond in some way for your business.

She says companies should have a policy in place to ensure they are continually expressing thanks throughout the year to others, which could include a small gift that also shows your appreciation—in her case, she sends a small box of tea as gifts along with thank you notes that are labeled in her brand colors. “Make thoughtful and creative gestures of appreciation part of your strategy to nurture your relationships,” she says.

Be public in your appreciation when you can too. For example, she suggests recognizing the contributions or victories of others online through social media or blog posts, or emails to subscribers of your newsletters.

Need more inspiration?

Smart Ways to Build Meaningful Connections With Clients

Use HEART in Reaching Out to Clients in the Pandemic

5 Occasions That Call for a Handwritten Note

How to Show a ‘Giving’ Versus ‘Taking’ Style to Your Business

Source:
How to Practice Gratitude as a Business Skill,” Entrepreneur.com (Dec. 25, 2020)
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Reprinted with permission