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Janet Pilcher: Hello everyone, welcome to the Accelerate Your Performance podcast. I’m your host Dr. Janet Pilcher, founder and president of Studer Education. 

As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m setting aside some time today for reflection and gratitude. I’m glad you’re here to join me. 

On this podcast, we often focus on the mechanics of excellence, the people, the systems, the processes, and the results it takes to get there. But the foundation of this excellence is always going to be the connection between people and their purpose. And nothing, nothing strengthens that connection more than gratitude. 

Let’s go back to the flywheel for a second. If you read my book, you’ll know the graphic I’m referring to. If you don’t, I’ll leave a link in the show notes so you can see it as I discuss it. On that flywheel, our core values are at the center: purpose, worthwhile work, and making a difference. Around it are the mechanisms by which we achieve this: inspiring workplaces, building strength in our people, and accelerating results. 

We know consistent practices keep the wheels spinning, and inconsistent ones don’t. And there is one practice in particular that keeps that flywheel spinning even through any external pressure that we experience. Gratitude falls directly into the “inspiring workplaces.” It’s also the most direct way to reinforce our core values of doing worthwhile work to make a difference. So as we slow down for the holiday, let’s lean into the pause and intentionally plan one act, one intentional act of gratitude at work. You may want to do that with your family as well. 

At Studer Education, we coach our leaders that to make appreciation truly land, it must be specific and genuine. We know that generic praise like “Everyone did a great job” is an empty comment, even if well-meaning. And to avoid this, let’s explicitly connect the behavior to its impact. We do this by considering specific contributions someone on our team has made recently. We want to get more specific than they worked hard. We want to start by naming the action and then linking it to our mission. 

Here’s an example: “Thank you for the transparency you showed during the review of the budget. This communication is how we build the trust required to meet our organizational goals. Notice how I named both the action and the mission, building trust.” 

Another example: “Thank you for staying late to help your grade level team on a holiday program. This is above and beyond effort. It directly ensures that we’re strengthening our bond with our school community. Thank you for that.” 

When we tie our thanks back to our standards, mission, or goals, we send a clear and repeatable message of “what right looks like.” And quite frankly, it just feels good to share kind words with others. 

When we show gratitude, we also want to consider how we’ll share this message. Of course, that depends on the person being recognized. Do they enjoy public shout-outs? Or would a private conversation or thank you note be better received? When we’ve rounded with people and taken time to get to know them, we can get a sense of how individuals like to be recognized and let that guide us. Remember, rounding is when we have those one-on-one conversations and we ask people, “what’s working well for you? What are your challenges? What’s getting in the way of you doing a good job? Who’s been especially helpful to you? And how can I be helpful to you?” We can take the recognition that the individual provides to us and we can recognize people, and we can show that recognition in multiple ways. 

So as you gather with loved ones this season, let the personal warmth of Thanksgiving inspire your professional actions. To all the dedicated leaders we partner with, I’m deeply grateful for your commitment to the challenging but important work of leading your districts and institutions to organizational excellence. What a gift it is to be able to partner with you in elevating your organization to meet the needs of all the people it serves. Thank you for letting us at Studer Education be part of your story and for you being part of our network. 

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As always, I thank you for tuning in to Accelerate Your Performance. I hope you have a restful and grateful Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you next time. Have a great week, everyone.