Give thanks to the people you work with

This is one of my last blog post before Thanksgiving reaches us. So I got to thinking about the upcoming holiday. Thanksgiving is far and away my favorite holiday. It was such a wonderful time of year up in Northwest Iowa and deep into fall: The leaves have turned and fallen, and the fall clean-up is pretty much completed. Halloween is fully behind us, and the holiday shopping insanity hasn't quite started, yet. But best of all, Thanksgiving is when my daughter comes home, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and a few close friends all gather for an afternoon of eating and reconnecting.

While I do love the eating, it's the reconnecting that makes the day truly special for me. I am truly thankful I have these people in my life. I am... and that's what got me thinking along a different path. Here I am focused on the "thanks" part of Thanksgiving, but what about the "giving" part?

Reflecting on my own feelings of thanks is certainly a worthwhile and healthy endeavor, no one could deny that, of course. But giving as an outward expression of that thanks... that's coming full circle. I say that because one is thankful when one has received (love, support, companionship, etc.)

In my family, we have the tradition of each person at the table saying what they are thankful for before we start to eat. I am sure that is a fairly common tradition since it is a simple way to allow us to communicate to each other and to give each other recognition.

Can this practice be taken to work?

In my company, we are small enough in the territory office that we can have a Thanksgiving party where we all bring in food and have an extended lunch together. However, for most companies that is not realistic, and we do not go around the table offering our thanks to each other. But it is realistic to have a personal mission to give your thanks on an individual scale next week before we take Thursday and Friday off. All it takes is a small gesture. Walk into your direct report's office and tell them something they do that makes your life easier, something you've noticed and value. It doesn't need to be a big thing, nor do you need to offer a spot bonus. Just go out of your way to give a "Thank you for ...... It really makes me happy that you do that because ...." That's it. Offer a compliment and a reason. It's a small token of your appreciation but will mean so much to the recipient.

Appreciate your boss? Go knock on his door and tell him. Too often, people go to the boss to ask for something or for help with a problem. Give your thanks. The change would be most welcome. An extreme example of an employee giving thanks happened just recently in my former company: HR told the managers how much vacation time people have left in 2015, and the managers emailed their people on that list a gentle reminder to schedule their days while they still can. One of those people was told he had five vacation days left, yet he knew he'd used them all up. That employee went to his manager and told her HR made an error in his favor. The manager looked into it and determined the employee was correct. Used to employees asking for time not giving it back, she asked him why he came forward when he so easily could have gotten away with taking an extra week off. He simply said, "I could never cheat you. You treat me with respect, do the best you can for me, and allow me to come and go as I need to for my family. This is just me trying to say thank you for that."

Up the ladder, down the ladder, don't forget to give your thanks to the people you work with. You have so much to be thankful for. You know it's true!

To your next success!

Uncle "D"