Embracing Gratitude: A Pathway to Leadership Excellence

Join us for this special episode all about gratitude. We are profoundly grateful for every single listener, subscriber, patron podcast guest and partner. You have all contributed to our mission to spread leadership excellence to the world. Thank you!

Show notes:
- We thank those in our community (all of you!) who have helped us with our Seasons Leadership mission.
- We talk about all the benefits that come with being grateful.
- We share actionable advice about gratitude practices you can implement today.

Join us as we talk about how gratitude can improve your leadership and life today!

Join Debbie Collard and Susan Ireland, certified coaches and co-founders of Seasons Leadership, in making positive leadership the norm rather than the exception on Wednesdays on the Seasons Leadership Podcast. (Selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 15 Positive Leadership Podcasts on the web!)

And now you can join our community of values-based leaders on Seasons Leadership Patreon at Patreon.com/seasonsleadership. At our gold-level, unlock our exclusive Lessons in Leadership Column from our Resident Seasoned Leader David Spong, a lifetime member of the Board of the Malcom Baldrige Foundation and our Leadership Elements Series.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hello and welcome to fall with the Seasons Leadership podcast, where we recognize the time in your leadership journey to integrate new insights and knowledge and to let go of what no longer serves you. Throughout the season, we will bring you actionable advice to improve your leadership and your life today. Thank you for joining me, debbie Collard and my co-host, susan Ireland. As certified leadership coaches and co-founders of Seasons Leadership, we share a vision to make excellent leadership the worldwide standard. Learn more at SeasonsLeadershipcom. Join us in making positive leadership the norm rather than the exception. By listening and engaging in the discussions that are featured on this podcast, you help us bring leadership excellence to the world.

Speaker 1: 0:44

Welcome listeners, and we are here today on the Seasons Leadership 2023 podcast about gratitude. This is the time every year when we decide to take a pause and put out our November Grateful podcast episode. We do that because it aligns with the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, where we stop to acknowledge the people we're thankful for, no matter where they are in the world, because it's a good time to be thinking about gratitude and thankfulness. The word gratitude derives from the Latin word gratis, meaning thankful or pleasing, depending on the context. If you think about it, susan, what is pleasing to us is something we're often thankful for, so they go together very well.

Speaker 2: 1:44

Absolutely, and I think maybe we do this once a year, but really I know I feel grateful and thankful every day. So really working with you, debbie, on Seasons Leadership has been such a blessing to me that I am eternally grateful.

Speaker 1: 2:11

Likewise, I'm grateful every day, and it's healthy to practice gratitude every day, and we're going to get to that in just a little bit. We wanted to take the time to say who in our lives we're thankful for. In Seasons Leadership, we're especially thankful for our podcast guests. We have had such a wealth of unique podcast guests this year.

Speaker 2: 2:37

Yeah, you know, we've had five episodes with returning guests, which we are especially thankful for. So fun. It's so fun to have those long-term relationships here, and I think many of those will be back again. I know our listeners like them too.

Speaker 1: 2:55

It's been so amazing this year. I don't think we could have imagined, looking at this time last year, what 2023 would bring us. As far as the podcast guests that we've had, we've had people from across the United States, all different areas, the United Kingdom. We had Marc LaRouste, also from France, because he just moved to France after he was on the podcast.

Speaker 1: 3:21

We had Patricia Zinniker from Germany and Marika Messiger from France, so we've had people from everywhere, all different time zones, all different countries, and it's been fantastic to have that diversity on the podcast.

Speaker 2: 3:39

Absolutely, absolutely. And I think, our podcast guests. What I'm grateful for them is not only are they sharing their unique perspective on leadership excellence, because there's not one formula for that. They're sharing that but they're also expanding the reach that Seasons leadership has to people who follow them into their countries, into their regions in the United States, and it really takes a community to expand the message and really help us on our mission, and all of our guests really did help us with that and wanted to help, so it's wonderful.

Speaker 1: 4:27

Yes, and they gave generously of their time, because they do not get reimbursed for being on our podcast, and so they gave their time to come share with our listeners actionable advice that they could apply immediately. And they also were generous in that, as you said, cross promoting sharing their community with us as we shared our community with them. And so, as you said, susan helps with our mission to bring leadership excellence to the world, increasing that it does. Who else are we thankful for? There's so many.

Speaker 2: 5:03

I know it, it's true, and it's where I am really thankful for the people who follow us, who have signed up for our email. Beyond our email distribution. We hear from them people who follow us on Facebook, on LinkedIn. In this new world, this followership and that kind of thing is so important. So every time you like a podcast or comment on it, it really helps and brings I guess I don't know how this actually works, but it brings visibility to more people, because the more people we have liking us, the broader audience we get we're learning and the reposting too right.

Speaker 1: 5:54

Reposting things that you were impressed with, that you saw from season's leadership, helps us immeasurably. I'm also thankful for all of our subscribers. The people who receive our emails have signed up through our website and we're able to have them help us get the word out about season's leadership and leadership excellence. And that goes right along hand in hand with our patrons, our Patreon site, the people who have signed up for the various levels on there, and our commitment to them and promise to them is that they are going to get some really cool leadership stuff and advice on a regular basis posted on Patreon. But we're thankful for all of you, each and every one of you.

Speaker 2: 6:47

And I wanna say a special shout out for all those people who could make the live events.

Speaker 1: 6:54

That's been amazing and so much fun. And if you haven't made one yet, there will be plenty of more opportunities and we highly encourage you to participate in that way. That way, you can get firsthand interaction and knowledge about leadership excellence. Right, of course, our podcast listeners, all of you that are listening to this gratitude podcast here today and continue to listen to our podcast on all the forums that we're on. We're on so many forums. Yes, apple Podcast, youtube I know I'm going to forget a million of them. Probably wherever you can find a podcast, you can find us. Just search for us on there.

Speaker 2: 7:35

Yes, well, I'm also grateful for how we are expanding our reach through other podcasts. So that's been new this year where we have been guests on other podcasts, which is, you know, this has been a real development learning experience for me as I go into this new world, but it's been fun and surprising and you know it's I'm just learning so much.

Speaker 1: 8:07

So I'm grateful yeah, we're grateful to those podcast hosts for having us on and again helping co-co, promote and expand our mission and our community out there, and it's been a learning experience for me as well. Lots of fun, always something new that you're not expecting, but I just think it's wonderful the way everybody's been so accepting and engaged and exciting about the content and what we're trying to do.

Speaker 2: 8:38

Yes, so, and so we have one last well, maybe one last that we can remember at this time. We have a new editor, podcast editor, dan Larson from Rome Studios. You may have noticed that, maybe a up level in some of our podcast.

Speaker 1: 9:01

Yay, dan, we appreciate you, so thank you. It's probably not the last, though. I just thought of a couple more that we maybe left off the list, and if we forgot, somebody left you off the list, know that we are thankful for you. Our memory isn't always the best in the world, but we have two other categories. I would say clients that have brought us in to deliver workshops in their locations, but also partners who've partnered with us. Our Michael Bruce image consulting, yes, who've partnered with us to provide image consulting advice and style advice to our listeners. David Spong are featured seasoned leader who we've featured stories on, both in the general publication and also on Patreon, and Lauren Penning are communications and marketing person who we could not live without.

Speaker 2: 10:00

I can't believe that. Oh my gosh, we should have had her right up front. Maybe we should redo this whole thing.

Speaker 1: 10:06

Lauren, we love you, you know, just know that. Yeah, so yeah, all of you, all of you. We are so grateful for you, because we wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for all of you. Yes, yeah, and this is a perfect time of year to be focused on gratitude, don't you think, susan, that's right.

Speaker 2: 10:28

Right, it's, it is and it's it. And I think that maybe we need to do this more than once a year, because you know these, these people have done so much for us and continue to do so much for us and and it's really appreciated.

Speaker 1: 10:47

And so the next fall to keep with our seasons metaphor is a time when we appreciate what we have and what we have learned and where we are in life and some things that we appreciate using for those of you who have heard of Marie Kondo, that Marie Kondo principle thanking something or someone for what they've done in your life and then letting go and moving on to the next thing, and so all that's encapsulated in fall, and so it's a good time. Even though we do it daily, doing it more publicly once a year at this time is really aligned with our our metaphor, if you will, of the seasons, and you know studies have shown them. Being grateful all the time, whenever you're having gratitude helps us change our mindset. It's associated with an entire host of mental, emotional and physical benefits, and it can be an improvement in your sleep.

Speaker 1: 11:53

Who couldn't use more sleep? Really? Your heart health, your mood, your immunity. We could also use some more of that, and it's been proven that gratitude can decrease depression, anxiety and difficulties with chronic pain and risk of disease. So, with all that you get just from being grateful on a regular basis, why wouldn't you do it right? If it was a pill, everybody would take it.

Speaker 2: 12:22

Totally agree. Plus, you know it's. I find I am much more attracted to people who are grateful people. I want to be their friends, probably because they're feeling so good, right, yes?

Speaker 1: 12:39

Yeah, it just permeates who you are when you're grateful. If you're feeling particularly negative on a given day, you can flip that by just saying hey, what am I grateful for?

Speaker 2: 12:50

Exactly.

Speaker 1: 12:51

And practicing gratitude, and that brings us to. We wanted to share something with you listeners. We wanted to, just like we do with our regular podcast, we have guests on. We wanted to share some actionable advice, and so today's actionable advice is about some gratitude practices that you can use, take and start applying right now, today. So, susan, run with the first one.

Speaker 2: 13:19

Okay, each day start and or both the day with naming something you are grateful for. I recently saw a take on this, where someone on social media posted a photo each day of something they were grateful for, which prompted others to do the same.

Speaker 1: 13:38

Yeah, that's cool. So it spreads the wealth too, right? So, oh, if that person's posting something they're grateful for, I can do that too, and then it just spreads that positivity out. And another thing you can do and this is one that is near and dear to my heart is keep a gratitude journal. Jot down the things you are grateful for regularly. It doesn't have to be on a particular cycle, it shouldn't be a oh, I've got to jot down what I'm grateful for today. Just take some time every day, every other day, once a week, it doesn't matter, but just practice and spend some time being grateful by journaling about it.

Speaker 2: 14:22

I like this one. Write a letter of gratitude to someone for whom you are grateful for, who are or who had influenced your life positively, that's a nice one. Can you imagine getting a letter like that?

Speaker 1: 14:38

I would love it. I know, wow, that is so great. And think back and if you haven't seen this you're going to have to go find the blog on it. But we wrote a blog on the Love Me drawer right, keeping track of those things that were positive. So when you're feeling down you can go back to it and that one. If I got that kind of a letter, you made a difference in my life. I'm grateful for you. Wow, that would definitely go in the Love Me drawer Great.

Speaker 1: 15:06

One Another thing you can do with gratitude and this may seem a little backwards, but it sincerely compliments someone If you're feeling particularly ungrateful or unthankful or downtrodden or whatever, just in a bad mood. Generally, I find that if you find something looking around you, running into someone at the grocery store or in line at Starbucks or whatever it happens to be, and you notice something that you sincerely like about that person maybe it's their smile, maybe it's they were happy that day, maybe oh, I really like that bright and cheerful scarf you have on, or whatever it is I find that if I say that to them because normally I would notice those things but I wouldn't necessarily go up to the person and say it. That's what makes the difference is going up to the person and saying that and it has to be sincere, of course you're not going to just make something up, but sincerely complimenting someone changes your attitude too.

Speaker 2: 16:18

I think so. This is another quick one just text someone and tell them that you're thinking about them and you appreciate them.

Speaker 1: 16:27

Have you ever gotten a text like that?

Speaker 2: 16:30

Not often, but every now and then.

Speaker 1: 16:32

yeah, I have. I got one recently and I was so excited to get that text and that's what it said. I appreciate you. That's it, and it made my day. Yeah, made my day. And I know it made that other person feel good too, because they were practicing gratitude. And then one more if you're so inclined to meditate it's not for everybody, we get that but if you are inclined to do that, you can make your meditation focused on thoughts of gratitude, sliding into your thoughts and brain as you're meditating.

Speaker 2: 17:12

This is really simple stuff, but it really gets us connected to others, connected to the world, opens up our eyes and our perspectives. I think you said this. It increases our resilience.

Speaker 1: 17:30

Absolutely Makes us more resilient, and we want you to know. We want you to know that we are so grateful and thankful for each of you. If you haven't gotten that from this message already, hear it now. We're so grateful and thankful for each of you and we want you to have a fantastic fall season, what's left of it, and start your gratitude practice today.

Speaker 2: 17:53

Thank you, listeners, for joining us for the Seasons Leadership Podcast. We hope you take these words of excellence with you to help you strengthen the organizations and communities in which you live and work and join us in making excellent leadership the worldwide standard. We have many ways for you to read, listen and watch as we explore what it means to lead with excellence. You can subscribe to our free newsletters, podcasts and YouTube channel. We also offer exclusive leadership resources through our Patreon Leadership Community. Visit Patreon P-A-T-R-E-O-N dot com. Slash Seasons Leadership to become a member and begin working toward your full leadership potential and support our mission of making excellent leadership the worldwide standard. Remember, no matter what level or role, you can become more than you are today. We would love to connect with you as we build our community of excellent leaders. Until next time, we're sending you positive vibes for integrating these new leadership insights into your leadership and life.