6 Ways Gratitude Helps Entrepreneurs Grow Their Companies

It turns out you don’t need a huge budget to retain top talent in your company. What you need is to take more time out of your day to sincerely appreciate your employees. A recent survey conducted by Glassdoor found that over 53 percent of the 2,044 participants said they would stay longer at their company if they felt more appreciated by their boss. In addition, 81 percent of employees said they would work harder if they felt more appreciation.

When your employees are appreciated regularly, they feel valued which gives them purpose, self-worth, and a sense of self-efficacy. Beyond that, according to Psychology Today, gratitude affects our hypothalamus, which regulates dopamine production, our “feel-good” brain chemical. Dopamine helps us sleep better, lessens stress, and increases metabolism and wellness.

What this means is that the gratitude that you show as a leader directly affects your employee’s health, wellness, and motivation. Of course, your business is built on the backs of your employees, so the more robust and motivated your team is, the more your company can grow towards greatness.

Take the time today to start growing a culture of gratitude within your company, and you’ll see just how quickly it will benefit you and everyone around you. Here are six ways to get started:

1. Say “please” and “thank you” with sincerity.

Basic manners cannot be overstated, especially as the leader of your company -- you set the tone that everyone else will follow. However, expressing gratitude for every small task or completion can make your appreciation seem insincere. So, find the balance; the trick is to find specific things to acknowledge, showing that you are paying close attention and not just going through the motions. Acknowledge the personal effort that your team member put in and how that effort benefited the company -- and you.

2. Drive a team mentality.

Gratitude may have evolved from tribal society, when we found out it was useful to care for our relatives as helping our families helped our shared genes survive. We may not share genes with our co-workers, but we do share common goals of promoting a successful business and helping it thrive. Promoting mutual success and gratitude for the team creates spillover where employees trust each other more and work more smoothly as a team, which benefits morale and improves workplace success.

3. Be generous with your recognition.

Of course your employees want to hear they’re doing a good job, and hear it often. But more than just hearing, employees respond best to being shown: give a raise or a bonus, paid days off, gift cards to a favorite restaurant, team building dinners and trips, public awards, or a spa day after a long project.

These are all wonderful ways to recognize someone, but keep in mind that the greatest way you can recognize someone is to help them grow their career. Can you offer them new responsibilities to match their pay raise, or inclusion in decision that affect the company? A spa day goes a long way, but believing in your employee’s abilities, even before they do, can be life changing.

4. Be humble.

If you’re any leader at all, you know your success rests on the shoulders of the myriad people who came before you and who help you daily, even though you may be the one gaining recognition in public. Withholding credit where it’s due can be incredibly disheartening to those who expend their blood, sweat, and tears for your company. Stay humble and acknowledge the many people in thankless jobs and doing less than glamorous tasks that have held you aloft as you achieved your role as leader.

5. Build gratitude into your company culture.

It will have to start with you, as captain of the ship, to create a culture of gratitude. But gratitude from you will boost morale everywhere once you make it safe and normal. A culture of gratitude is made by allowing time and space for thanks. Acknowledge employees in your company newsletter. Set aside time in staff meetings and reviews for thanks, from you and from others. Throw welcome and goodbye parties to acknowledge team members. Once you make the space, gratitude in your company will only grow.

6. Show trust.

A wonderful way to show gratitude is to trust your employees. Monetary or gift compensation is appreciated but should be a given. Back your employees up when they make a questionable call, and check in later if you need to. Trust them to work from home if they’re producing at a high rate, take a sick day if they need it, or take long lunches -- let them handle their personal life in accordance to their needs. Work comes first, but tight reins will only choke your employees. Ease up and show your immense gratitude by letting go a little.

Murray Newlands

13 Habits of Exceptionally Likable People

Too many people succumb to the mistaken belief that being likable comes from natural, unteachable traits that belong only to a lucky few—the good looking, the fiercely social, and the incredibly talented. It’s easy to fall prey to this misconception. In reality, being likable is under your control, and it’s a matter of emotional intelligence (EQ).

In a study conducted at UCLA, subjects rated over 500 adjectives based on their perceived significance to likeability. The top-rated adjectives had nothing to do with being gregarious, intelligent, or attractive (innate characteristics). Instead, the top adjectives were sincerity, transparency, and capacity for understanding (another person).

These adjectives, and others like them, describe people who are skilled in the social side of emotional intelligence. TalentSmart research data from more than a million people shows that people who possess these skills aren’t just highly likable, they outperform those who don’t by a large margin.

Related: 9 Things Successful People Won't Do

We did some digging to uncover the key behaviors that emotionally intelligent people engage in that make them so likable. Here are 13 of the best:

1. They Ask Questions

The biggest mistake people make when it comes to listening is they’re so focused on what they’re going to say next or how what the other person is saying is going to affect them that they fail to hear what’s being said. The words come through loud and clear, but the meaning is lost.

A simple way to avoid this is to ask a lot of questions. People like to know you’re listening, and something as simple as a clarification question shows that not only are you listening, you also care about what they’re saying. You’ll be surprised how much respect and appreciation you gain just by asking questions.

2. They Put Away Their Phones

Nothing will turn someone off to you like a mid-conversation text message or even a quick glance at your phone. When you commit to a conversation, focus all of your energy on the conversation. You will find that conversations are more enjoyable and effective when you immerse yourself in them.

3. They Are Genuine

Being genuine and honest is essential to being likable. No one likes a fake. People gravitate toward those who are genuine because they know they can trust them. It is difficult to like someone when you don’t know who they really are and how they really feel.

Likable people know who they are. They are confident enough to be comfortable in their own skin. By concentrating on what drives you and makes you happy as an individual, you become a much more interesting person than if you attempt to win people over by making choices that you think will make them like you.

4. They Don’t Pass Judgment

If you want to be likable you must be open-minded. Being open-minded makes you approachable and interesting to others. No one wants to have a conversation with someone who has already formed an opinion and is not willing to listen.

Having an open mind is crucial in the workplace where approachability means access to new ideas and help. To eliminate preconceived notions and judgment, you need to see the world through other people’s eyes. This doesn’t require you believe what they believe or condone their behavior, it simply means you quit passing judgment long enough to truly understand what makes them tick. Only then can you let them be who they are.

5. They Don’t Seek Attention

People are averse to those who are desperate for attention. You don’t need to develop a big, extroverted personality to be likable. Simply being friendly and considerate is all you need to win people over. When you speak in a friendly, confident, and concise manner, you will notice that people are much more attentive and persuadable than if you try to show them you’re important. People catch on to your attitude quickly and are more attracted to the right attitude than what—or how many people—you know.

When you’re being given attention, such as when you’re being recognized for an accomplishment, shift the focus to all the people who worked hard to help you get there. This may sound cliché, but if it’s genuine, the fact that you pay attention to others and appreciate their help will show that you’re appreciative and humble—two adjectives that are closely tied to likeability.

Related: How Successful People Stay Calm

6. They Are Consistent

Few things make you more unlikable than when you’re all over the place. When people approach you, they like to know whom they’re dealing with and what sort of response they can expect. To be consistent you must be reliable, and you must ensure that even when your mood goes up and down it doesn’t affect how you treat other people.

7. They Use Positive Body Language

Becoming cognizant of your gestures, expressions, and tone of voice (and making certain they’re positive) will draw people to you like ants to a picnic. Using an enthusiastic tone, uncrossing your arms, maintaining eye contact, and leaning towards the person who’s speaking are all forms of positive body language that high-EQ people use to draw others in. Positive body language can make all the difference in a conversation.

It’s true that how you say something can be more important than what you say.

8. They Leave a Strong First Impression

Research shows most people decide whether or not they like you within the first seven seconds of meeting you. They then spend the rest of the conversation internally justifying their initial reaction. This may sound terrifying, but by knowing this you can take advantage of it to make huge gains in your likeability. First impressions are tied intimately to positive body language. Strong posture, a firm handshake, smiling, and opening your shoulders to the person you are talking to will help ensure that your first impression is a good one.

9. They Greet People by Name

Your name is an essential part of your identity, and it feels terrific when people use it. Likable people make certain they use others’ names every time they see them. You shouldn’t use someone’s name only when you greet him. Research shows that people feel validated when the person they’re speaking with refers to them by name during a conversation.

If you’re great with faces but have trouble with names, have some fun with it and make remembering people’s names a brain exercise. When you meet someone, don’t be afraid to ask her name a second time if you forget it right after you hear it. You’ll need to keep her name handy if you’re going to remember it the next time you see her.

10. They Smile

People naturally (and unconsciously) mirror the body language of the person they’re talking to. If you want people to like you, smile at them during a conversation and they will unconsciously return the favor and feel good as a result.

11. They Know When To Open Up

Be careful to avoid sharing personal problems and confessions too quickly, as this will get you labeled a complainer. Likable people let the other person guide when it’s the right time for them to open up.

12. They Know Who To Touch (and They Touch Them)

When you touch someone during a conversation, you release oxytocin in their brain, a neurotransmitter that makes their brain associate you with trust and a slew of other positive feelings. A simple touch on the shoulder, a hug, or a friendly handshake is all it takes to release oxytocin. Of course, you have to touch the right person in the right way to release oxytocin, as unwanted or inappropriate touching has the opposite effect. Just remember, relationships are built not just from words, but also from general feelings about each other. Touching someone appropriately is a great way to show you care.

13. They Balance Passion and Fun

People gravitate toward those who are passionate. That said, it’s easy for passionate people to come across as too serious or uninterested because they tend to get absorbed in their work. Likable people balance their passion with the ability to have fun. At work they are serious, yet friendly. They still get things done because they are socially effective in short amounts of time and they capitalize on valuable social moments. They minimize small talk and gossip and instead focus on having meaningful interactions with their coworkers. They remember what you said to them yesterday or last week, which shows that you’re just as important to them as their work.

Related: How Your Daily Caffeine Fix Is a Silent Killer of Success

Bringing It All Together

Likable people are invaluable and unique. They network with ease, promote harmony in the workplace, bring out the best in everyone around them, and generally seem to have the most fun. Add these skills to your repertoire and watch your likeability soar!

A version of this article first published on TalentSmart.com.

Travis Bradberry