Ways In Which Gratitude Can Transform Your Leadership And Influence

This is a guest post by Neamat Tawadrous who blogs on leadership, and whose vision is to become a global authority that helps, empowers and equips new and struggling business owners with the guidelines and leadership skills to market themselves and become unlimited leaders (Alpha Leaders) She was one of  the EMB BloggerSupport Mega Giveaway and STARS Bloggers winners, thus the guest post opportunity.
In today’s post she highlights the importance of leaders developing the practice of gratitude as a strategy to lead and influence their followers and sums it up with some powerful transforming benefits of gratitude for leaders. Without further adieu here now is Neamat…

As leaders, it’s vitally important that we develop the practice of Gratitude to be able to lead and have influence. 
Gratitude sees what is good and right with the world and usually finds something meaningful in nothing. Leaders who see their followers through the lens of Gratitude will always see the untapped potential in people and inspire them to achieve what others think is impossible.
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues but the mother of all the rest”. — Cicero
“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation”. — Brian Tracy
Having an attitude of Gratitude can help to balance out the negative effects of the challenges and stresses. The benefits of Gratitude for both leaders and followers include reduced stress, optimism, better perception and improved health. It is about the little things as well as the big things.
Gratitude is a tool for being successful and a leader in your own life. Being grateful not only enriches our lives with joy and appreciation for the present, but by appreciating what we have and who we are today, will enable us to see new opportunities moving forward.
Every single day we all have small and big things that make our lives better. It is up to us to choose to live mindfully in the present while learning from the past and planning for the future. We  I take action now and start by being grateful for every day. Gratitude stems from acknowledging that where we have arrived didn’t happen solely on our own.
Regardless of your place in life, you’ll discover the single most profound key to a sense of inner leadership and lasting happiness through a powerful human quality, Gratitude.
“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express Gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express Gratitude for”. — Zig Zigler

Gratitude, everyday thankfulness and, ultimately, a personified awareness of gratefulness, will help you to cultivate a profound and long-lasting sense of leadership.
As you find your inner sense of leadership, you will experience a natural desire to help and give to others, to help those in need, to empower those who are without support and to inspire the people around you. Gratitude is the beginning source.

Why Is It Important To Practice Gratitude As A Leader?

• Gratitude Develops Success:

Our success ultimately depends on collaboration with others. Having Gratitude for those who help us become successful influences them to do more to help us and support our cause.

• Gratitude Leads To Opportunities: 

The doors to opportunities often open from unexpected sources. We all experienced that. Showing appreciation draw the interest of those with whom we come in contact, and will attract other leaders who will help us become even more successful.

• Gratitude Brings Peace:

Having a thankful attitude for our blessings inspires internal peace which is freeing. The inner peace will lead us to pursue high-value activities that will more quickly lead us to success.

• Gratitude increases trust:

When we show others that we value their hard work and contributions, their trust in our leadership and direction increases.
“Feeling Grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life, actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value in your life”. — Dr. Christiane Northrup
Gratitude in and of itself is a gift. Expressing Gratitude is not only a gift to give, but also a gift to receive. This applies to any leader in any arena.

Here Also Are Some Powerful Transforming Benefits Of Gratitude For Leaders:

• 1. Gratitude Helps Us Have Perspective:

As we look at any business situation, we can easily get overwhelmed if we focus on just what’s not working. Fear and anxiety can set in which prevent us from thinking clearly. Gratitude is the antidote to fear and anxiety.  By focusing on “what’s working” we can create a vision for the business or ourselves that is grounded in “strengths”. Starting with an understanding of what’s working is a strong foundation upon which to grow and change. It will literally affect our attitude and the attitude of those around us.
It also keeps us from becoming self-absorbed, because it sustains a focus on our purposes in life. Leaders can become absorbed in themselves and their problems; Gratitude breaks this self-absorption.

• 2. Gratitude Re-fills Our Tanks With Energy:

Realizing what we have in life energizes our efforts to do something in response. When we look upon any situation and focus on what’s working rather than what’s not working, we feel happier, more optimistic, more energized, and more compassionate. Its effects show on our overall health and well-being. This energy helps us meet goals, face challenges, be resilient, and inspire others. Gratitude builds our psychological and spiritual reserves.

• 3. Gratitude Builds Connections:

When we focus on and express what’s good in others, it builds our connection to them. Others feel valued for their work and cared about as individuals. “Being valued” is a key driver of sustainable engagement. No single behavior more intuitively and reliably influences the quality of people’s energy than feeling valued and appreciated by their leader. Genuine words of gratefulness never fail to have an impact—both on the one who speaks them and the one who hears them. Remember Gratitude is a gift to be given and received. This is exactly what Yvonne did here with her post showing Gratitude.
“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude”. — Alfred North Whitehead

• 4. Gratitude Creates Resilience:

Facing our challenges with Gratitude create resilience to push forward to implement the vision we set for ourselves and meet our goals as leaders. Resilience is critical for leaders as they face the challenges of their work. And Grateful Leaders will tell you they appreciate what came from the experience.
Remember, what we focus on increases. If we focus our thinking on how difficult or awful our situation feels and focus exclusively on that, we are closing off our positive emotions.
Conversely, a focus on the negative will create more negativity. By allowing the difficult experiences to be as they are, and not holding or focusing exclusively on them, we open the door to other possibilities of seeing both, ourselves and others.
I am advocating a focus on Gratitude here. This small but significant shift makes a huge difference in how we approach and act towards others.
I have practiced this myself during an especially challenging time, and it has been effective. By re-directing myself towards a focus on what I am grateful for, I activate positive, heartfelt emotions. These in turn help me see the challenges differently, and to interpret them in ways that allow the needed space to grow.
An important aspect of successfully leading people is showing Gratitude for who they are and what they do. It is recognizing the good things in your life and acknowledging those who helped you achieve them. Gratitude also implies helping others achieve their goals.
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world”. — John Milton
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To Your Success,
Neamat Tawadrous

You can visit https://infoguide.com.ng INFORMATION GUIDE PORTAL for daily living guides.

About the Author

Neamat is the creator and author of her blog site neamatproblog.com. She is learning and sharing fundamental, cutting edge strategies to build leadership skills that helps, empowers and equips New Business Owners to uncover their potential.