Thanksgiving is almost here!

For many of us, it is our favorite holiday.  The entire focus is on being grateful - for the people and things we have in our life. No pressures of gift giving, very little decorating, a long weekend to relax before the crazy of Christmas sets in.  The biggest pressures are not to overcook the turkey and be sure we know what channel the big game is on!  This is truly the holiday all about celebrating and enjoying family and friends. 

It’s also the holiday most ignored in our workplaces.  For some reason, gratitude is an uncomfortable topic among our leaders and teams.  But science proves that acknowledging the things we are thankful for improves mental well-being and provides dozens of positive culture building connections.  And as we share and talk about our grateful moments, we build bonds of understanding and trust among our team.  But how can we get people more comfortable with the subject of gratitude?  Here is a simple yet powerful way to draw out what is important to them and share it with their teammates. 

THE CORN GAME – A Family Tradition 

Corn is a symbol from the early days of sharing a bounty with neighbors and family, a common food on everyone’s table.  In our family, it is also the symbol of all the reasons we have to be grateful.  For as long as I can remember – probably at least 40 years – whoever is together from our family and friends joins in. The jar of gratitudes lives in my sister-in-law’s home and travels wherever we happen to be.   Around the table at dinner, each person gets three kernels of uncooked corn.  After dinner (giving our stomachs time to prep for dessert!) everyone shares the three things they are most thankful for.  A kernal goes in the jar for each gratitude.   

Sometimes the stories are funny. Sometimes the same among guests. Sometimes difficult to come up with. Sometimes about the happenings in our lives. Sometimes we can only come up with two.  Sometimes they make us cry.  But they always create a closeness, and share insights into the others around the table. 

BRINGING GRATITUDE TO WORK 

That same simple act – sharing what we are grateful for – opens the door to authenticity and a touch of vulnerability.  It humanizes us.  

Teams that see the human in each other are more empathetic, communicate more honestly, support each other more effectively and have higher trust levels.  Gratitude strengthens our team culture.  

Here are a few tips to try the Corn Game at work.

1.  Choose a symbolic item. 

Give each person something small to represent their gratitude and add to the ‘jar.’  It can be corn, or a bean, or a slip of paper, or an orange peel that you ‘grated’ – whatever. It’s not about the object, but the symbolic act makes the activity more real and memorable. 

2.  Set a time to share. 

Choose a time for your team to share what they are grateful for. This can be a one time thing, like at Thanksgiving. Or it could be a monthly/weekly activity at a staff meeting. Clients have even done it daily, at morning stand-up meetings. Whatever you choose, don’t give up doing it too soon – it may take a little time for your associates to get comfortable opening up. 

3. Broaden what gratitude means 

Share with your team that they can be grateful for anything they want.  It could be as light-hearted as “I’m grateful for this new pair of shoes I’m wearing” to “I’m grateful for John’s help on my project yesterday” to “I’m grateful for my grandma, who always encouraged me.”  Encourage them to say something different every opportunity, (so it doesn’t default to  “I’m grateful for my family.”  which is wonderful but there are a lot more things to be grateful for too.) 

A CLOSING THOUGHT 

I’m sure you will shortly start feeling all the benefits that practicing gratitude bring – lighter moods, stronger connections, better collaboration.  But most importantly, gratitude reminds us that people are the heart of every success story.   

So as you celebrate this Thanksgiving, may your jar – literal or figurative – be overflowing with blessings. 

Wishing you and yours a joyful, gratitude-filled Turkey Day!