Many leaders adopt a stoic “professional” style that downplays emotion in the workplace. Ignoring emotion, however, threatens to flatten our interactions with others and can make a leader seem impersonal and transactional. As one old adage puts it, people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.
Effective leaders bring positive emotion to the workplace and create an inspirational and connected culture at the low cost of simply paying attention and being intentional. In particular, the practice of gratitude at the heart of the Daily Examen of St. Ignatius of Loyola can be productively applied at work.
Make an effort to say a heartfelt thank you to at least one person every day. This habit helps you as much as the people whom you thank. If you aren’t expressing gratitude, it might be because you are not registering when good things happen to you.
In addition, every time you have a meeting, acknowledge something positive about an individual’s accomplishments. Most modern work feels like an endless stream of tasks. Help those you lead to participate as a community in recognizing and celebrating good work. Lifting up successes in gratitude is a priestly function of a leader.
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KEVIN MULLANEY, Ph.D., is a retired U.S. Navy captain who teaches in the Department of Leadership, Ethics, Law at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. A member of Holy Trinity Council 3413 in nearby Severna Park, he lives with his wife and family in Annapolis.








