In today’s Hot Take, Maria talks about gratitude as a practice and catalyst for empathy, collaboration, and well-being.
Listen in as Maria discusses gratitude as a leadership superpower, mental health booster, and cultural glue. She dives into what true gratitude means, why we should be expanding our circles of thanks, and gives us the science behind the strategy of gratitude with practical tips for your own life. Throughout, Maria acknowledges the complex history of Thanksgiving, emphasizing the importance of holding space for both its positive and negative aspects to deepen both our gratitude and our empathy.
To access the episode transcript, please scroll down below.
Listen in for…
- Gratitude is the cultural glue to keep your team happy and thriving.
- Recognizing the Thanksgiving paradox and inviting both sides of the conversation.
- The science behind gratitude and how you can start practicing gratitude today to improve performance and well-being.
“Gratitude doesn’t mean ignoring problems — it means facing them with perspective. It’s emotional range training, and emotional range is leadership power.” — Maria Ross
Episode References:
The Empathy Edge Podcast Episodes:
- Logan Mallory: How a Culture of Gratitude Boosts Engagement and Mental Health
- November Hot Take: How Gratitude Leads to Empathy
Studies and Data:
- NIH National Library of Medicine:
- Harvard Health, Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier
- Dr. Michelle Rozen: Gratitude in Leadership: A Strategic Advantage
- Learned Optimism: Is Martin Seligman’s Glass Half Full?
Keynote Speakers and Conference Trainers: Get your free Talkadot trial and enjoy this game-changer for your speaking business! www.share.talkadot.com/mariaross
Connect with Maria:
Get Maria’s books on empathy: Red-Slice.com/books
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Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross
Take the LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with Empathy
LinkedIn: Maria Ross
Instagram: @redslicemaria
Facebook: Red Slice
Threads: @redslicemaria
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Maria Ross 00:00
Maria. Hello friends. It’s Maria here for another hot take, episode of the empathy edge, and I am inviting you today to pull up a chair, pour a cup of something warm, or you can grab a fork, because, let’s be honest, this time of year, pie counts as breakfast, and let’s talk about gratitude, the kind that lands somewhere between the rustic, weird cornucopia of thanksgiving and the deeper, tougher truth beneath the tablecloth, if you’re in the US Happy Thanksgiving in advance, and if you’re elsewhere or not into the holiday hype, think of this as a gratitude season moment, because the practice transcends any one day on the calendar and on today’s episode, I wanted to dig into gratitude as a practice, as a leadership superpower, as a mental health booster, and also a Cultural glue that keeps our teams connected and thriving, because empathy Without gratitude, that’s like gravy without mashed potatoes. It might look fine, but something vital is missing. So before we dig in, let’s honor both sides of this complicated holiday. The truth is, the roots of Thanksgiving reveal deep harm and a lack of empathy toward indigenous peoples and the holidays. Mythology glosses over centuries of displacement and pain now remembering that doesn’t diminish gratitude. It deepens. It. Empathy means being able to hold the whole story the light and the shadow, so we can do better. Moving forward, remember both and and by the way, I’ll put a link to my episode from last year that talked a little bit more about this. So let’s talk first about the Thanksgiving paradox. Thanksgiving, on the one hand, it’s about pause, connection, reflection, and on the other it’s layered with that complicated history, and that’s okay, because, as I said, as empathetic leaders, we can hold that tension. We can say I’m thankful, while also saying I understand the harm this day represents true gratitude. Isn’t performative. It’s conscious. It’s informed. It invites awareness of privilege, of history, of community. So this season when you give thanks, maybe expand the circle. Be grateful for what you have, and mindful of who might have been left out of the story that’s both and Leadership in Action, honoring tradition while seeking truth. Now, you know, I love my data. Gratitude isn’t just a fluffy sentiment, it’s science backed strategy. Here’s a bit of that. Number one, it leads to happiness and well being. Research from Harvard shows gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. It helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences and build strong relationships. Two, it impacts for the good our mental and physical health. Studies show gratitude improves sleep quality, mood and immune function. Third, it has workplace impact. A culture of gratitude boosts trust, learning and collaboration, teams become more innovative and adaptive. And finally, gratitude helps with retention and performance, according to leadership expert, Dr Michelle Rosen, leaders who practice gratitude see higher team performance and retention, because people don’t just stay for paychecks. They stay where they feel appreciated, right? By the way, I’m going to have all these links in the show notes so you can dig into this data. And also, if you want more on this, you can check out my past episode with motivosity, we talked about how recognition and gratitude move company culture from check the box to truly human. That conversation is a great deep dive on how gratitude fuels motivation and connection at work. I’ll link that in the show notes as well, because it’s worth a listen this week. So okay, you get it right. Gratitude works. You’re on board. But how do we actually practice it beyond just saying thank you, right? It’s kind of like the book, Good night. Moon, you know? Thank you stars. Thank you sun, thank you car. That’s running right. Today. I used to read that book to my kid all the time when he was growing up. Anyway, how do we actually practice it, especially when our inboxes are imploding and maybe the cranberry sauce isn’t setting right? Who knows right? How do we practice gratitude? I know I need more of this, by the way, because I am a short fuse at times, and I really need to take a breath and. Practice gratitude. So here are some tips I found, and I need to practice what I preach. So I’m sharing them with you, and I invite you to practice them with me. Number one is to start small and daily, write down one thing you’re grateful for each morning, practicing gratitude, according to positive psychology, founder Martin Seligman rewires your brain for optimism and balance, and who doesn’t need more of that, especially this time of year. Second, be specific and authentic instead of thanks team for the great work. Try. I noticed how you stayed late to help with that client issue, and that mattered, that specificity, that clarity tells people they’re seen. Number three, build it into your systems and rituals. Kick off meetings with a quick gratitude round. Create a shout out Slack channel. Make it normal, not novel. Fourth model, it publicly. Some studies find that gratitude expressed by leaders, foster psychological safety and innovation. When you go first, others will follow and finally, use gratitude as emotional regulation. So when stress spikes or imposter syndrome whispers, ask yourself, what’s going well right now? That question grounds you in abundance instead of scarcity. I want to be really clear here, gratitude is not Pollyanna. It doesn’t mean ignoring problems. It means facing them with perspective. It’s emotional range. Training and emotional range is leadership power. Now here’s the connection. Gratitude expands empathy. This is what I talked about in my episode last year that I’m going to link for you. It softens judgment, it widens perspective, and it deepens connection. When you say I’m grateful for you, you’re not just being polite. You’re acknowledging humanity, which, of course, is the essence of empathy. Teams that feel appreciated become more generous with each other, more willing to collaborate, more invested in outcomes, because people feel seen. In my framework of five pillars that I presented in the empathy dilemma book, gratitude strengthens multiple pillars, self awareness, self care and joy, especially, it’s how we refill our tanks and extend empathy sustainably. Let’s be real. The world isn’t exactly thriving right now. There’s exhaustion, fear, polarization, disconnection. I feel it, you feel it. It’s everywhere. If we want a better world, we have to be better humans in our own spheres of influence. Gratitude helps us start there, with humility, with compassion and with the daily choice to notice what’s good and nurture it. So as I close out
Maria Ross 08:03
this season, and it’s because I won’t be doing a December hot take, I will be still offering you some amazing episodes coming up. I just want to leave you with two things, an invitation and a wish. First, here’s the invitation. I want you to do a gratitude sprint this week, here’s how I want you to pick one teammate or client or friend, and yes, I want you to do this at work and send them a specific note or email of appreciation. Try to be as clear as possible. Number two, you can keep a three things gratitude journal for seven days, one professional, maybe one personal, and maybe one, you know, tiny joy. I want you to be grateful for three things and start your day there and see how it changes the cadence and the tone of your day. And then finally, if you want accountability and a little fun, share your reflections on LinkedIn or Instagram with the hashtag empathy edge, and then tag me red slice Maria or red slice or Maria Ross. I’d love to celebrate your gratitude stories with you. So here’s the second thing, here’s the wish. I’m deeply grateful for you, and I’m also deeply grateful to you when I can flub my words and you meet me with grace and forgiveness. I’m grateful to you for showing up, for leading differently, for believing that empathy is not a weakness, it’s a winning strategy. You’re proving that success built on humanity lasts longer. And a little bit of a shameless plug, I’d also be so very grateful if you could leave your honest review of the empathy dilemma online at Amazon or Goodreads. Those reviews really matter. So thank you for taking some time in advance, and yes, may your turnkey be juicy your pie. Plentiful, and your family drama minimal, or at least entertaining enough for a good story later. And of course, whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or just the joy of a quiet Friday night, may your season be full of warmth, connection and presence, because that’s what we’re all craving. So take a nap, take a breath and take a moment to say thank you, because that’s where empathy starts and gratitude. Remember, keep listening. I’m not going away. We have more great guests coming up at you for the rest of this year. One of my favorite episodes, as I mentioned, is coming up in December. Now, I know calling it a favorite episode is like picking your favorite child, but this really was such a good one, and it’s a case study in how you can be profitable and successful by leading with empathy. So again, as for me and my solo hot takes, I’ll see you in the new year, friends, but you can, of course, always get on my email list for monthly musings. Just go to red, Dash slice.com/newsletter, and sign up. Keep choosing empathy, keep leading with heart, and keep building a world that works better because we feel better. Happy Thanksgiving and don’t forget to pass the pie. Take care and until next time, remember that cash flow, creativity and compassion are not mutually exclusive. Take care and be kind.
