When a [leader] doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A [leader] can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude. ~Elie Wiesel (Romanian-born American Jewish writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor)

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we pause and have a heightened sense of gratitude. What comes to mind for me this week is a TED Talk by Christine Porath. She describes how Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s Soup Company turned the company around by being mindful of every touchpoint with employees.

Leaders are Tough-minded on Standards and Tenderhearted with People

Porath: When my friend Doug Conant took over as CEO of Campbell’s Soup Company in 2001, the company’s market share had just dropped in half. Sales were declining, lots of people had just been laid off. A Gallup manager said it was the least engaged organization that they had surveyed.

Within five years, Doug turned things around. Within nine years, they set all-time performance records and racked up awards, including best place to work. How did he do it? For Doug, it all came down to being tough-minded on standards and tenderhearted with people. For him, it’s all about these touchpoints, or daily interactions with employees, whether in the hallway, in the cafeteria, or in meetings. If he handled each touchpoint well, employees would feel valued.

Doug also showed employees that he was paying attention. He hand wrote over 30,000 thank-you notes. This set an example for other leaders. Leaders have about 400 of these touchpoints a day. Most don’t take long, less than two minutes each. The key is to be agile and mindful in each of these moments.

I’m in awe over the idea of 30,000 handwritten thank-you notes! I’m also in awe over the fact that a Holocaust survivor (Elie Wiesel) would say that a person can almost be defined by their attitude toward gratitude.

Imagine 400 touchpoints a day. Even if a leader only works 40 weeks a year, that’s 80,000 touchpoints! To be agile and mindful of those moments all throughout the year, not just the weeks falling between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. That’s a different type of leadership.

Grateful Leadership

Judith Umlas author of Grateful Leadership says “grateful leaders are those who see, recognize, and express appreciation and gratitude for their employees’ and other stakeholders’ contributions and for their passionate engagement, on an ongoing basis.”

Note: this is not an annual event around the holidays, it’s what grateful leaders do on an ongoing basis.

Want to evaluate your leadership? Ask yourself: What’s your attitude toward gratitude?