I’ve been thinking a lot about what sustains leaders over the long haul. Here’s something I keep coming back to.
Leadership requires a lot from you, regardless of how many people you lead or the level at which you operate. The demands are constant. The pressure is real. Over time, leadership can drain your energy and quietly test your resolve. Leading isn’t easy.
Yet there are two tools available to every leader, rarely discussed, underused, and often overlooked, that have the power to reshape how you experience leadership altogether. When practiced intentionally and consistently, they don’t just support your leadership; they sustain it.
Those tools are gratitude and thankfulness.
The Internal Posture of Leadership
As leaders, we don’t typically talk about things like heart condition. We talk about strategy, execution, KPIs, outcomes, and culture. What we rarely discuss is the internal posture from which we lead.
Yet, whether we acknowledge it or not, we lead from it every single day.
Your heart condition is your internal operating environment; the mindset, emotional posture, assumptions, and narratives you carry into every room and every conversation. It shapes how you respond under pressure, how you interpret challenges, and how you show up for your team.
You may not always recognize it in yourself, but your team experiences it in your tone, your decisions, and your presence.
This is where gratitude and thankfulness become powerful leadership tools.
Gratitude Is Internal
Gratitude is internal. It is the discipline of noticing what is going right, even when something else is going wrong.
Gratitude asks us to look for the good in our circumstances, our work, and our people. It sounds like:
- That didn’t go as planned, but we can fix what didn’t work.
- This outcome is disappointing, but we’re still moving forward.
Gratitude reframes moments, allowing leaders to remain constructive rather than reactive.
Thankfulness Is External
Thankfulness is external. It is gratitude expressed.
Gratitude lives in the heart; thankfulness finds its way into words and actions. When a leader’s internal posture is marked by appreciation, it naturally shows up in statements like:
- Thank you for the effort you put into this.
- I appreciate how this team handled that challenge.
- You’re making a difference here, and I’m glad you’re part of this team.
The objective for leaders is not simply to feel appreciative, but to intentionally cultivate gratitude and allow it to move outward through thankfulness.
That includes expressing appreciation to team members, peers, and even leaders above you. A simple “Thank you for the feedback—it helped us move forward” can strengthen trust and reinforce a culture of respect.
Why This Matters More Than We Think
When leaders fail to pay attention to their internal posture, it often manifests as impatience, short responses, misread intentions, or emotional leakage.
Culture doesn’t erode all at once; it erodes through small, unexamined moments.
Gratitude and thankfulness help interrupt that drift by refocusing leaders on what is constructive, healthy, and human.
Imagine the impact on your team if gratitude and thankfulness became part of your daily leadership rhythm. Consider how it might change your meetings, how challenges are approached, or the level of trust people feel toward you.
Even taking five minutes a day to identify what is going well can begin to shift not only how your team experiences you, but how you experience leadership itself.
And this practice doesn’t stop at work.
Leaders who train themselves to look for the good often find that posture extending beyond the office—into their homes, relationships, and personal pursuits. Over time, you don’t just respond differently; you become someone who actively creates the good you’re looking for by recognizing it in others and saying something about it.
Gratitude and thankfulness are not soft skills or passing ideas. They are leadership disciplines. When practiced consistently, they reshape environments, strengthen relationships, and sustain leaders for the long haul.
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The Gratitude & Thankfulness Leadership Challenge
I’d like to leave you with a simple challenge.
For the next seven business days, take five minutes a day to intentionally practice gratitude and thankfulness as a leadership discipline.
Each Day:
1. Pause and reflect.
Identify at least three things that are going right within your work, your team, or yourself. Don’t rush past them. Consider why they matter.
2. Make one visible.
Choose one of them (feel free to do more) and express it out loud. Say thank you. Acknowledge effort. Recognize progress. Let gratitude move from your internal posture into your leadership presence.
Pay attention to what changes; not just in your team, but in you. Notice your tone, your patience, your clarity, and your energy. Observe how people respond when appreciation becomes intentional rather than occasional.
At the End of the Challenge, Ask Yourself:
- Did this shift how I approached challenges?
- Did it change the emotional climate around me?
- Did it alter how I feel as a leader?
- Should I keep going?
If you’re willing, I’d genuinely like to hear how it goes.
- What did you notice?
- What surprised you?
- What felt uncomfortable or unnatural at first?
- What do you want to continue?
Leadership grows through reflection and shared learning. If you take on this challenge, consider sharing your experience: whether in a comment, a message, or a conversation with another leader.
Your insight may help someone else lead with greater clarity, steadiness, and purpose.
