Thanksgiving is a fabulous holiday for many people. I believe those with thankful hearts enjoy it most. One way to cultivate a thankful heart is to recount all the things you have to be thankful for. Today, I’ll share some things I’m thankful for this season...
The opportunity to serve - If you’ve read many of my posts over the last year, I hope my bias is clear – great leaders serve. The best leaders are serving leaders not self-serving. We can serve in big ways and small – both in strategic ways and more tactical ways. I’m thankful to have the chance to serve every day.
An organization that cares about more than profits - Don’t misread this – profits matter! Our founder, Truett Cathy, says, “There is no mission without margin.” We do work to be good stewards and generate a fair return. However, we know success is more than profits. I’m thankful to work for a company that embraces this point of view.
My team - Having worked at Chick-fil-A more than 30 years, I’ve ALWAYS had a great team. My new team is no exception. The depth of their knowledge and experience amazes me. I’m also inspired by their commitment to excellence. I’m thankful for each of them.
The chance to do work that matters – Yes, the impact of the projects I work on varies widely. Some of them, you could argue, are less significant than others. However, when I take the long view, the work I do matters – it has the potential to make a difference in people’s lives. I’m guessing your work does too. That’s something to be thankful for.
Clear understanding of my weaknesses – Self-knowledge is worth its weight in gold. I recently read a book entitled, Leadership and Self-deception. If you haven’t read it, I would recommend it be on your 2013 Reading List. Leaders who don’t know their weaknesses create weakness in others. I’m thankful to know mine.
The ability to grow – This is one of the things I’m most thankful for. I know my weaknesses, but I’m still a work in progress. As long as you and I can say that, we can stay in the game. A leader’s capacity to grow determines our capacity to lead. I’m thankful I can still grow.
I realize your list is probably different than mine. The point: stop and think about all you have to be thankful for. Whether your list is long or short, we all have at least one thing in common - we’ve been given the opportunity to lead. That alone, is a lot to be thankful for![GLS_Shield]
