Welcome to What You Say Is What You Get®: Positive Leadership Power from Dr. Linne Bourget, November, 2018, For Thanksgiving--How are Gratitude and Appreciation Different?
First, honoring our Vets and their families, thank you for your service. We know that freedom is not free and we appreciate and are grateful for your sacrifices!
This Thanksgiving, I remember the first time 35 years ago when I hosted a large Thanksgiving
group in my home and asked everyone what they appreciated. I was writing my pioneering
Ph.D. thesis on appreciation, so was eager to see what would happen. It turned out that
my request set up people to appreciate each other. There was not a dry eye in the house.
Now many families do this at Thanksgiving, usually asking everyone to share what they are
grateful for, which is also good. This sets up general answers like friends, family, good food. Rarely does this result in specific interpersonal appreciation.
What is the difference between gratitude and appreciation?
So, why is this? What is the difference between gratitude and appreciation? These are often
confused but positive leaders need to be very clear.
Gratitude is an abstract feeling or positive attitude usually having spiritual connotations
...e. g. I am grateful to be alive, to have my family, to live in a country with freedoms, etc.
Appreciation is words spoken from one individual to another or to a group, with specific
information that goes beyond thank you, describing what you appreciate about that person,
e. g. I appreciate that you lead meetings in a positive efficient way, covering the bases, giving people a chance to speak, and making decisions quickly and clearly based on everyone's input.
You can see the difference, and it is indeed powerful. At Thanksgiving, as a positive leader,
how fully do you express your gratitude AND appreciation? Both are essential.
One does not substitute for the other.
Think about your business. The more gratitude and appreciation you express, the more others
want to work with you, the longer they stay and the more information they share with you
...and working together is much more fun and profitable.
In business, appreciation is usually more effective for leaders, employees, teams, customers
and strategic partners. Feedback specifics are key for employees to understand what
behavior is most important to succeed in your company, and what they are doing well,
so they will keep doing it!
“Positive feedback should be earned, and it should be crystal clear
in your company how to earn it.”
Dr. Linne's Positive Power Quote
Client Example: A finance department responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars
annually, was in disarray in a large technology firm. They improved their numbers 35-40%
in a few months by our combining appreciative teamwork with Quality Management metrics.
Their senior executive was very clear on what he wanted, which accelerated their progress.
With much higher self-esteem, they went from silent and disengaged to actively engaged,
leading, and successful.
“A person who feels appreciated will always do more
than what is expected.” Author Unknown
The core of my strengths leadership work is appreciation--I trademarked this phrase for
my questionnaire as part of the What You Say Is What You Get(R) Positive Leadership series,
based on my dissertation, as it has proven so powerful for clients and me!
How high is your Appreciative Quotient®? Your AQ?
If I interviewed your employees, colleagues, and customers, how appreciated would they say they are by you?
If 1=low and 10=high, what number would they give you?
How skilled are you at seeing and appreciating their best?
What do you need to learn or improve?
I appreciate all of your positive leadership! Happy Thanksgiving!
Wishing you strengths, peace and prosperity!!
Dr. Linne
"Build on Your Best"
Giving you the power to predict, profit, protect Dr. Linne Bourget M.A. M.B.A. Ph. D www.oldpowernewpower.com www.whatyousayiswhatyouget.com
Pioneer, strengths-based leadership,
Founder/CEO 480-767-1717 Institute for Transformation Leaders & Consultants
Strategist, Consultant, Speaker,
Author of From Old Power to New Power – Which Leaders Will Survive?
Co-author with Mark Victor Hansen, Deepak Chopra, Amazon #1Bestseller, Wake Up, Live the Life You Love - Finding Personal Freedom
Author, What You Say Is What You Get® Series: The Secret Language of Great Business Results,
Dr. Linne's Leadership Guides Series Positive Quotient PQ® Questionnaire Appreciative Quotient AQ® Questionnaire
Secrets of Powerful Appreciation for Parents and Children, 2 CD Audio by "Dr. Appreciation" Appreciation: The Secret Key to Magical Marriage
Power Course on Intuition for Business Leaders! "The greatest challenge is taking complete responsibility for your own greatness." Dr. Linne Copyright 2005-2018. All Rights Reserved. Dr. Linne Bourget, M.A., M.B.A., Ph.D.
