The Thanksgiving Habit

Dentists, 'Tis the season to show gratitude for others. I love this time of year. Even those who are not accustomed to showing gratitude will go out of their way to say thank you somehow to the people who are important to them. Kindness toward strangers goes up, and it becomes just a little easier to look outside of ourselves. So here is a tip for you throughout this holiday season that should be easy, should be fun, and should be possible to continue into the new year.

Whether you know it or not, each day you either take withdraws from your team's emotional bank account, or you make deposits. A withdraw would be a request for some sort of action, big or small. It could be a corrective conversation or a need for them to stay late to finish a project, etc. A deposit would be some sort of acknowledgement; a "thank you" when they don't expect it, a shout out in front of the team about how awesome they are, a card to show your gratitude, $5 coffee card, or simply a high five. Each day, you make withdraws and you make deposits. Now think for just a moment. Which do you do more?

For the next 6 weeks, make it a game to give your team more deposits than you normally do. One good way to do this is to keep pennies in your pocket. Put one penny in your pocket for each team member you have. Then throughout the day as you make a deposit into a team member's emotional bank account, move a penny over to your other pocket. Try each day to make sure all the pennies make it into your other pocket. Use only one penny per team member. Showing gratitude does not have to involve money, but watch how the little extra you give at the end of the year is received with a bit more gratitude as you create an office culture of thanksgiving.

Catching your team doing things well is so important, and it is often overlooked. As you make deposits to your team, watch how they start to do the same for each other and from time to time return the favor to you. Have fun, and Happy Thanksgiving!