The Energizing Power of Gratitude

I read this Thanksgiving post on CNN, which points to several university psychologists and a couple of popular authors in describing the power of gratitude. I had an experience with it a couple of weeks ago, too.

"I think I'm going to drop out of school," began the conversation with one of our students--a scholarship student with great creativity, an engaging personality, and a curious mind. "I just don't think I can continue. When I think of doing this for the rest of my career, I don't think it's for me. I used to wake up excited to go to classes, and now I wake up, and I don't even want to come."

As I pressed for more detail, it became clear that she had a number of concerns about how things were going in her classes, with classmates, and with faculty members.

"What is the most recent thing you can remember about college that you really enjoyed?" I asked.

As she answered, I transcribed her words on a piece of stationery. I handed her the sheet of paper.

"Your assignment," I said, "is to fill this sheet with statements of gratitude over the next week."

The details of the assignment were to write at least once a day, more if desired, and to express gratitude for specific things, events, and people. Additionally, she was to write at least two thank-you notes to members of the department--students or faculty, and give them.

One week later, the same student walked into my office again--burst in.

"It's working!" she exclaimed. "For three days now, I've woken up before my alarm, just excited to come learn and be with these people that I love so much. I just wanted to thank you for the assignment."

We visited for a few minutes more about the details, and I encouraged her to continue her gratitude journaling. As she was leaving, she said, "One more thing...can I do more than two thank-you notes?"

Taking the Fall

NFL organizations receive nearly constant scrutiny and media coverage, and I thought the developments for the New York Football Giants recently have been particularly interesting. The team has been for the past couple of years a league powerhouse, but has lost the last four games in a row, leading to much finger pointing and speculation about who is responsible and what should happen next.

When things go wrong, it is difficult to generate positive energy and be productive, perhaps one of the reasons that losing sometimes comes in bunches (the nice thing is that winning can, too). I imagine what it might be like to be a player, hearing all of the rumors, the blame, and then wondering if my teammates or coaches place responsibility on me. Then consider that there are 53 players and a handful of coaches that each may begin to feel that fear, and you can imagine what the climate of the office is. What can be done to diffuse the pressure, to create space for positive, creative, productive action?

Here is what the head coach said, as reported by Don Banks of Sports Illustrated:

"I thought it was perfectly clear, but let me express it so no longer does anyone else receive any type of blame,'' Coughlin said on Monday. "Let me start out by saying that I'm responsible for all of the decisions that are made with our football team. "The [red] zone decisions are my responsibility. They are nobody else's. No one else made a mistake. The quarterback did not make a mistake. The decision was mine.''

By taking the responsibility publicly and clearly, Coughlin is creating space for his players and coaches to work on things that will prepare them for the next games.

This kind of leadership really costs very little, but it may pay big dividends. Have you been in organizations during challenging times? How to people respond to them with regard to taking responsibility openly, and what were the effects on the group? On the outcomes?