By Josh McDonald, Senior Project Manager with Nexus 5 Group
Recently, we had the opportunity to host our annual Nexus 5 Group Thanksgiving Breakfast which is organized by our superintendents. Once again, the food was awesome, and it gave us all an opportunity to enjoy a meal together.
Hosting 50+ people is not an easy task, but our superintendents crushed it. Whoever cooked the biscuits and gravy deserves an award.
Having over 50 employees carrying different responsibilities, roles, schedules, and project timelines, it does not easily allow Nexus 5 Group "family" gatherings. As we were all enjoying breakfast in the training room of the warehouse, I was reminded of the need for thankfulness, or gratitude, in the workplace.
Gratitude promotes a healthy team environment, but gratitude can be easily overlooked or lurk in the shadows of busyness and the needs of task-oriented companies. This is especially true in the construction industry.
Recognizing People, not Talent
I believe the greatest impact of gratefulness in the workplace is its ability to acknowledge people, not talent. Talent is needed in every company. However, the personal dynamics are what create a thriving and growing company. Acknowledgement of a person’s input, candor, completion of a task, or ability to resolve an issue in the field assists in the promotion of an ownership mindset. This mindset is contagious and healthy. It fosters growth and empowers others.
Sometimes things don’t go as planned.
Creating a culture of thankfulness and gratitude gives us the ability to reset during those difficult times and focus on the good things. This promotes a culture of healthy leadership and causes leaders to take a step back from the stress of situations to more clearly make the proper decisions. Gratitude calms situations and circumstances and removes us from the potential to make errors in judgement out of emotion of the moment.
Company culture is one of the largest factors relating to employee retention. In today’s workplace, many employees or team members are looking for a place they enjoy amongst the challenge of the daily grind. Gratitude and thankfulness promote a happier workplace which trickles down to greater productivity and teamwork.
The Nexus 5 Group war cry is “Serve Well.” Thankfulness and gratitude are necessary to accomplish this.