Positive emotions like gratitude, compassion, and pride have been shown through research to foster greater employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention. Yet in our fast-paced, bottom-line focused business world, intentionally cultivating these feelings can be overlooked. As leaders, we must recognize the role emotions play in organizational effectiveness and make the cultivation of positive emotions a strategic priority.
Today we will explore how gratitude, compassion, and pride can be developed on one's team through intentional leadership practices grounded in research yet focused on practical application. With dedicated effort, leaders can foster appreciation, care, and meaning within their teams - ultimately enhancing performance, culture, and the human experience of work.
Defining Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride
Before outlining strategies, it is important to define the core constructs being addressed:
Gratitude refers to a felt sense of thankfulness and appreciation (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). At an individual level, it involves being aware of and thankful for good things that happen, both large and small. Culturally, it is expressed through behaviors like thank you notes, acknowledging contributions, and celebrating milestones.
Compassion can be thought of as caring sympathy and empathy for others (Goetz et al., 2010). It involves understanding others' suffering and desires to alleviate it. Compassion moves beyond surface-level caring to a disposition of kindness, with associated feelings of warmth, concern, and care for another's wellbeing.
Pride relates to a felt sense of achievement, accomplishment or ownership (Tracy & Robins, 2007). Healthy pride stems from recognizing valuable contributions, working towards goals, continuous learning and improvement. Unhealthy pride can involve arrogance, grandiosity or putting others down to elevate the self. Leadership aims to foster the former.
With a shared understanding established, we can now explore evidence-based strategies for cultivating these positive emotions on one's team.
Strategies for Developing Gratitude
1. Offer Specific and Frequent Appreciation
Research shows gratitude thrives when appreciation is offered with intentionality, specificity and frequency (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Wood et al., 2008). Leaders should:
Thank people individually and specifically for their contributions regularly, both verbally and in writing. Generic "good job" won't foster the same feelings as "Thank you for all your extra hours putting together the Smith proposal. Your creativity really helped secure the deal."
Send gratitude emails to highlight team wins and recognize top performers weekly. This spreads positive feelings across the whole team.
Implement a peer-to-peer "I appreciate you because..." recognition program. Encouraging teammates to appreciate each other builds gratitude throughout the culture.
For example, at Dropbox, managers thank employees weekly with personal, handwritten notes highlighting their unique impact. This reinforces positive behaviors across the collaborative, 2,000+ person global team.
2. Celebrate Milestones Appropriately
Shareholder return expectations sometimes discourage "unnecessary" celebrations. However, research shows celebrating achievements with teammates strengthens bonds and fosters feelings of gratitude (Clark 1975; Rudolph & Zell, 2009). Leaders should identify natural milestones to mark, such as:
Project completions: Bring donuts or lunch to thank the project team face-to-face for all their hard work and success.
Anniversaries: Throw an annual company-wide BBQ or breakfast to reflect on the past year and express collective gratitude for contributions toward growth and lasting through challenges together.
Personal milestones: Take time to appreciate length of service, promotions or personal life events impacting work-life integration for individuals.
For example, Anthropic, an AI safety startup, holds "thankful Thursdays" where the whole company gathers weekly over breakfast to recognize team member achievements, both work-related and personal, with thoughtful thanks. This builds strong affiliation and gratefulness.
Strategies for Fostering Compassion
1. Lead with Empathy
Compassion begins with understanding others' experiences and perspectives (Goetz et al., 2010). Leaders must check assumptions and listen with empathy. Practically:
Schedule one-on-ones to truly understand each direct report personally and professionally. Ask open questions to learn how their role impacts wellbeing.
Circulate the office regularly to listen without judgment. Be approachable for any concerns big or small.
Confront unconscious bias and assumptions. We all have them - commit to checking perceptions and giving the benefit of the doubt.
For instance, at Anthropic, leaders spend at least half their 1:1 time genuinely listening to understand each person holistically, not just evaluate work output. This builds trust and care within the team.
2. Apply a Compassionate Lens in Decision-Making
Beyond listening, leaders must consider decisions' human impacts (Caza & Caza, 2008). Practically:
Vet major changes considering all stakeholder perspectives. Changes impacting roles, compensation or work-life balance require understanding varied experiences.
Err on the side of compassion over efficiency or expediency when possible. For example, flexible schedules help those struggling outside work while maintaining productivity.
Intervene constructively if a team member seems overwhelmed. Offer support privately before larger issues arise, showing care for individuals' wellbeing.
For instance, Anthropic provides unlimited vacation on the assumption people know their own limits best. This displays trust in employees' judgment paired with compassion for life's complexities outside of work.
Strategies for Cultivating Pride
1. Highlight Purpose and Impact Regularly
When people understand how their efforts contribute to meaningful outcomes, pride naturally emerges (Tracy & Robins, 2007). Leaders should:
Articulate a compelling organizational purpose that inspires pride in belonging to it. Continually reference this higher purpose when making "the ask" of team members.
Communicate regularly how the team's specific work contributes to helping achieve that overarching purpose and vision through metrics, stories from clients/users, or industry recognition.
Offer developmental challenges that allow growth and mastery toward stretch goals which people can feel ownership and pride in accomplishing over time.
For example, Anthropic's clear mission to "ensure advanced AI is created safely and benefits all humanity" drives pride in developing this nascent yet impactful technology responsibly, as do updates on technology deployment helping partners create life-improving applications.
2. Recognize Accomplishments Both Formally and Informally
Publicly celebrating achievements increases feelings of pride in contribution(Tracy & Robins, 2007). Leaders should:
Formalize recognition programs with awards, bonuses or promotions tied to goal achievement that the whole team can aspire to and applaud others for.
Applaud informal "wins" regularly, like a project completed early, a new idea implemented or a positive client testimonial, to keep momentum and pride constant.
Promote from within when possible to foster pride in an organization with opportunity for growth based on merit alone.
For example, Anthropic profiles team members' career paths monthly to inspire pride through examples of internal advancement and growth opportunities available at the company.
Conclusion
When cultivated intentionally, emotions like gratitude, compassion and pride have been shown to positively impact employee satisfaction, retention, and performance. Leaders play a critical role developing these feelings on their teams through research-grounded yet practically applied strategies. By offering frequent, specific appreciation; listening with empathy; considering decisions' human impacts; clearly communicating purpose; and recognizing contributions meaningfully, gratitude, care for others, and pride in work can be strengthened within any organizational culture. Fostering positive emotions should be a strategic priority for leaders seeking engaged employees committed to shared success over the long haul. With dedication to these evidence-based yet pragmatic practices, appreciation can flourish within any team.
References
Caza, A., & Caza, B. B. (2008). Positive organizational scholarship: A critical theory perspective. Journal of Management Inquiry, 17(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492607305907
Clark, M. S. (1975). Nonconsumptive goals and their effect on appraisal of performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31(4), 675–684. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.31.4.675
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377
Goetz, J. L., Keltner, D., & Simon-Thomas, E. (2010). Compassion: An evolutionary analysis and empirical review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(3), 351–374. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018807
Rudolph, C. W., & Zell, E. (2009). The consequences of celebrating successes and failures: A construal level perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 386–393. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014048
Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007). Emerging insights into the nature and function of pride. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(3), 147–150. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00493.x
Wood, A. M., Maltby, J., Gillett, R., Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2008). The role of gratitude in the development of social support, stress, and depression: Two longitudinal studies. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(4), 854–871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2007.11.003
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
