4 Unique Gifts You Can Give Your Employees During This Holiday Season

With Thanksgiving right around the corner many of us will embark upon a considerable gift buying spree for the Holiday Season. Some of us will practically break the bank in an effort to show love and appreciation for family members and significant friends.  But what about the other people in our lives that are significant due to the fact that they help us make a living and fulfill our mission?  What if we broke the bank in a different way for them? I have four gift ideas:

Gift #1: Manage your mindset!

-Remain positive and focused even when the project doesn’t go as planned.

-Practice patience. Keep in mind that waiting is not punishment, it is preparation.

-Have faith that things will work out, keep moving ahead, if even at a snail’s pace. With the destination straight ahead things always begin to clear up.

-Remember that positive work environments outperform negative work environments.

 Gift #2: Build recognition into your work culture.

-This is the season of Thanksgiving and gratitude”. Recognize and give thanks to your employees for doing good work.

-Recognize the effort; if it doesn’t work out exactly as you had planned be proud of the progress made, make the necessary adjustments, and then try again.

-Research has shown that companies that give regular thanks to their employees far out perform those that don’t.

-Share recognition stories at your next meeting.  Recognition has a physiological impact on performance. Our bodies create oxytocin when we feel appreciated.

 Gift #3: Smile more often………

-There is a mind-body connection in your frontal cortex that sends a message to your brain that you’re happy from the simple act of smiling. It changes our mood.

-Smiling can make others happy, it’s contagious.

-Smiling has been shown to lower your blood pressure. Check it out….sit for a few minutes with a smile on your face and take a reading, and then take a reading without smiling. Notice a difference?

Gift #4: Keep your pride in check.

This is actually a gift you can give your employees throughout the whole year, and when it is practiced it goes a long way.

-Remember that you can’t possibly know it all

-Admit that much of your success is owed to others

-Don’t allow your title to define you or what you do

Above all, remain humble. Learn from others. Enjoy the Journey.  The people who’ve meant the most to me in my life had these simple yet meaningful qualities.