"Don’t let Spotify be more grateful to the people in your life who have made an impact than you are."
I didn’t want to be there.
I have nothing against the Apple Store at all. In fact, I like to go in and look around when I have the chance. I didn’t want to be there early, on the first day of my vacation, missing breakfast with the rest of my family.
It started the day before.
We were rushing to get everyone and everything into the car and to the airport so we wouldn’t miss our flight. I made one last lap around the house to ensure we had everything we needed, and the house was locked. I ran out to the van and, as I was hopping in, I dropped my phone. As it lands on the driveway, I know.
I knew before I picked it up that the screen was cracked. I was wrong.
It was SHATTERED! Bad. Like, I need Band-Aids on my fingers trying to use my phone, bad. I couldn’t even swipe it to open it.
I showed up at the Apple store before they opened the next morning to get it fixed. I was about to experience something amazing.
The employees at the store lined up on both sides of the door a few minutes before it opened. When the doors were unlocked, the 6-8 of us waiting outside moved toward the door. That’s when it started.
The Apple employees all started clapping, yelling, and high-fiving us as we walked through the gauntlet they had formed! They were welcoming us and cheering for us as we walked in and continued to do so for more than just a few minutes. The best way I could describe it is, they celebrated us. They were thanking us for choosing them over all the other options we had. We had chosen to be there, and they were thanking us for that.
That’s a picture that was burned in my brain and I still think about it from time to time.
How thankful am I? How thankful are you?
One of the most overlooked aspects of leadership is genuine gratitude. As a leader how thankful are you for all the opportunities you've been given, all the success you've attained, and for all of the people who have helped you along the way?
Good leaders always recognize that we don't accomplish anything alone. We have been helped by people who invested in us, believed in us, or cheered us on.
There are five weeks left in the year as I write these words. This is usually the time of year when the “best of” lists start coming out. You know what I mean. “The Best Movies of 2024”, “The Hottest Trends of 2024”, and if you have a Spotify account you will soon get a breakdown of the music, podcasts, and books that you listened to the most this year.
It’s natural, as we take time to celebrate the holidays and spend time with family, to reflect on all that has happened this year. It may be as simple as your Spotify year in review or maybe long conversations with friends and family about all the things life has thrown at us in the last twelve months.
I am writing this the day before Thanksgiving and thought it might be a good time to challenge us as leaders to be thankful.
Think about all the challenges you have faced this year. Some have been work-related; others have been personal. Whatever it is you’ve faced, I bet there are people around you who were helpful. Maybe they picked up some responsibility for you in a busy or difficult season so you could focus your attention. It may be that they encouraged you during a challenge or went above and beyond expectations to help your family or team accomplish a goal.
Have you celebrated all the people who have helped you this year?
What if you took time once a week for the rest of the year to say “thank you” to those who have helped you get where you are? Maybe it’s a parent or a mentor. It could be a manager or a standout employee. It may be your boss for giving you an opportunity.
What if you took a few minutes every week to handwrite a note, send a card, make a call, shoot a text, type an email, or send a message via carrier pigeon? Invite them out to lunch or coffee and pay! The method of delivery isn’t anywhere near as important as taking the time to say thank you.
Don’t let Spotify be more grateful to the people in your life who have made an impact than you are. Say thank you. Tell the people who have helped you that it hasn’t gone unnoticed, and that you are sincerely grateful.
Make a list of people to say thank you to. Don’t wait or it won’t happen. Take some time right now and make a list of people that you are grateful for. The world could use more grateful leaders. I hope this practice will make us a little better at that.
Happy Thanksgiving! (If you’re reading this when it’s posted, if not, Happy Arbor Day.)
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