The Most Overlooked Performance Edge: Gratitude That Actually Works

Every year I watch CEOs pour mas­sive ener­gy into per­for­mance — sharp­en­ing strat­e­gy, tight­en­ing exe­cu­tion, opti­miz­ing sys­tems. All essential.

But there’s anoth­er lever avail­able to every leader — sim­ple, free, and far more pow­er­ful than most peo­ple realize:

Real grat­i­tude.

Not the polite, cor­po­rate ver­sion.
Not the ​“check the box” version.

I mean the spe­cif­ic, mean­ing­ful kind that shifts your inter­nal state — and pos­i­tive­ly impacts the peo­ple around you.

A recent Chief Exec­u­tive arti­cle echoed what I’ve seen for decades: grat­i­tude boosts clar­i­ty, resilience, and trust in ways dash­boards nev­er will.

And the real proof comes from lived expe­ri­ence.
 In a recent con­ver­sa­tion, Michael Wend­land shared how grat­i­tude became a turn­ing point in one of the dark­est stretch­es of his men­tal health jour­ney. It didn’t fix every­thing, but it gave him enough sta­bil­i­ty — enough oxy­gen — to start climb­ing again.

His sto­ry reflects what I’ve seen hun­dreds of times:

Grat­i­tude sta­bi­lizes lead­ers far more than they expect.

Why Grat­i­tude Grounds Leaders

Lead­ing a growth com­pa­ny is intense — pres­sure-cook­er intense.

Grat­i­tude doesn’t remove stress. But it does pull you out of reac­tiv­i­ty and tun­nel vision, and back into clarity.

Lead­ers who build small, gen­uine moments of grat­i­tude into their rou­tines often notice:

• less reac­tiv­i­ty
• clear­er perspective
• more patience
• stronger resilience

It’s not flashy.
But it’s steady — and steadi­ness is a super­pow­er when nav­i­gat­ing growth and complexity.

What Grat­i­tude Does for Your People

If grat­i­tude sta­bi­lizes you, it’s even more pow­er­ful for your people.

Peo­ple don’t thrive because of perks. They thrive when they feel seen — tru­ly seen — for their effort and consistency.

And after decades coach­ing teams, I can con­fi­dent­ly say:

I’ve nev­er met some­one who was over-appreciated.

When a cul­ture becomes even slight­ly more appreciative:

• peo­ple lean in
• trust deep­ens
• con­tri­bu­tion rises

You can’t pro­gram this through HR.
 But you can cre­ate it through steady, authen­tic appreciation.

Two Frames to Keep Grat­i­tude Practical

1. A bit of grat­i­tude strength­ens you; a bit of con­tri­bu­tion strength­ens them.

Grat­i­tude isn’t soft — it’s fuel.

2. Grat­i­tude is a prac­tice, not a per­son­al­i­ty trait.

You don’t have to feel grate­ful to start. Paus­ing to notice some­thing good resets your sys­tem and changes your day.

This is pure Your Oxy­gen Mask First:
Stay strong so you can lead strong.

A 10-Day Grat­i­tude Chal­lenge (Zero Fluff)

For the next 10 days:

1. For oth­ers, share it: Express one piece of real, spe­cif­ic grat­i­tude to some­one else.
2. For your­self, reflect on: One thing you’re per­son­al­ly grate­ful for.

Total time: two min­utes.
The shift often shows up fast — in clar­i­ty, patience, ener­gy, and connection.

A Final Thought

Lead­er­ship is a roller coast­er — reward­ing, demand­ing, exhaust­ing. Grat­i­tude doesn’t remove the pres­sure, but it makes the ride stead­ier and more meaningful.

If you want a low-effort, high-impact prac­tice to strength­en clar­i­ty and con­nec­tion, this one works.

It worked for Michael. It works for count­less lead­ers I coach. And it can work for you too.

Addi­tion­al Resources:

• Blog — Grat­i­tude & Gen­eros­i­ty = Happiness
• Blog — Cel­e­brat­ing the Suc­cess and Accom­plish­ments of Your People
• Video — A Close Call with Men­tal Health: Inter­view with Michael Wendland
• Video — Inter­view with Author and For­mer Sleep Coun­try Cana­da CEO, Gor­don Lownds