Time to Do a Gratitude Check-In

We are officially into the second quarter of the year, and if you are like many of my business coaching clients, it’s been a busy year thus far. Most have taken the time to complete their quarterly action plans and have a good idea of where they want their businesses to grow in the next three months. They have cross-referenced their quarterly plan with their yearly plan and made adjustments as necessary. They have checked in with their leadership team and gotten alignment on the key goals for the quarter. Which means that there is just one thing left to do before you hit the ground running.

It’s time to check in with your gratitude

This is a practice that I like to do daily in the form of journaling, but for many it’s not something that comes naturally, so you may want to begin by doing this exercise every quarter and working your way up. Taking the time to check in and acknowledge just how far you have come in the past week, month, year, or decade can be a little daunting at first. But the more you do it, the more you begin to realize just how important it is for your growth as a leader and as a company. With my own clients, we check in every coaching session and celebrate our victories together. Because when we feel accomplished, we are driven to do even more the next day.

At one point, you were excited to get your very first sale. You were over the moon when you signed your office lease, and making payroll every two weeks felt like an accomplishment. Now, depending on where you are on your business journey, those things may no longer seem like a big deal. But they are. And taking the time to celebrate your victories, no matter how small, will help you feel your success faster and help prevent feelings of burnout. So keep a list on your computer or in a journal of all the things that you did this week that you are proud of, and review that list. You may be amazed at all you have accomplished when you write it all down in one place.

Share the feelings of gratitude with your team

And while you are practicing gratitude, don’t forget about your team. Never assume that they know you are happy with their performance. They, too, like anyone else, would love to hear that you think they are doing a great job managing their team, or meeting their sales goals, or dealing with a particularly difficult vendor situation. So, take the time to share your feelings of gratitude with your team, and encourage your team leaders to do the same with their own teams. A company culture of gratitude is one worth working toward.

With a solid quarterly action plan, an aligned leadership team, and a company culture of gratitude, there is nothing that you can’t achieve. There is no task too difficult and no goal too lofty. Keep your eye on the high-value tasks and projects and you will find yourself scaling and growing with ease. Good luck!