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How Gratitude Can Unlock Your Leadership Potential
Strategies for integrating a gratitude practice into your work.
There’s long been a terrible — and entirely unfounded — belief that the most powerful people must accrue the worst kinds of personality traits in order to be successful.
I’m talking about the outdated management model of the tyrannical boss — the one who everyone tiptoes around, worried about whether they’re going to get his lunch order wrong, make a mistake around him, or tell him something he doesn’t want to hear (even if he really, really needs to hear it).
These kinds of bosses have become almost caricatures, especially since they make frequent appearances in movies and television. Who could forget The Devil Wears Prada, in which Meryl Streep’s character, Miranda Priestly, was able to control an entire room with one withering look. Or what about Ebenezer Scrouge — one of the original bad bosses? ’Tis the season to remember that he wouldn’t let his employee take Christmas Day off to spend with his family.
These kinds of bosses exist in real life, too. According to recent research, only about half of employees feel that their boss values their contribution, and almost one in five think their boss takes credit for their work.
