The Gratitude Huddle

Reflect on the past

Your team is tired - there’s low energy in meetings and projects are taking longer than expected.

It's typical to tackle these issues by focusing on the future and amping up the mission. While this may help, lifting your team’s spirits may need a different approach.

According to Chris Schembra, the author of Gratitude and Pasta, the secret sauce to a resilient team is actually making time to reflect on the past and acknowledge what you’re grateful for.

Let’s talk about how!

⏰ Set a daily gratitude reminder

Send your team a daily reminder on Slack (or something similar) with a simple question:

"What were you grateful for today?"

They can choose something small, like a great conversation with a colleague, or something big, like closing a major project.

📥 Create a "Gratitude board"

Collect your gratitudes in a virtual whiteboarding tool like Miro. This becomes a growing reservoir to celebrate everything you’ve achieved.

It also has the added benefit that people can add what they're grateful for asynchronously!

👯 Have a "Gratitude Huddle"

Gratitude makes for a nice pick-me-up when your team is stressed or tired. Why?

Gratitude floods our brain with positive chemicals like oxytocin and dopamine, so saying what you’re grateful for out loud and hearing each other’s contributions will instantly lift your team’s mood!

At the end of a long week: • Schedule a call • Pull up your Gratitude Board • Ask each person to share 1 or 2 things they’re grateful for

⏱️ No excuses, make the time

Next time you’re wondering how to close the day or want to do something nice for your team, remember the advice from Chad Pennington, the quarterback for the New York Jets:

“The only way to accomplish the big goals and the big wins is to accomplish the small goals and celebrate them on a consistent basis.”