Finding Joy, Connection, and Purpose: A Thanksgiving Reflection

As Thanksgiving approaches, I can’t help but think about the twists and turns of the journey and what I am grateful for.  Three things truly stand out from 2024:

1. Reconnecting to Joy

In January, I chose "joy" as my theme word for the year. I’ll be honest. This one got lost for a few months. As I’ve been getting to the other side of some family loss and a few other bumps in the road, joy has finally reentered the picture.  Paris, Montreal, Colorado, and my son starting college were some highlights from the first eight months. But my favorite image of joy was this picture from a hike in Sedona last month. If that doesn’t ooze joy, I don’t know what does.

In the final weeks of 2024, please think about your original intentions for the year and identify one small step to get or stay in sync with it.

2. My Circle of Support

As I and others have gone through tough times this year, I have reflected about my inner circle of friends and family. Their support has truly been a blessing and I am grateful that I’ve had the chance to give them support too. I doubt that life will slow down, so please live yours with intention and carve out time to connect with the people who matter most.

3. Impact Through Meaningful Work

What an unbelievable privilege it is to contribute to others' success. Each of us at Newberry Solutions are incredibly passionate about the impact we want to have, through our focus on leadership development and nonprofit board service.  I am truly thankful that three global multi-billion dollar companies and a university system implemented our New Lens® learning platform this year, allowing us to put leadership development strategies and tools in the hands of more people who need it. The results have been incredible and we can’t wait to do even more in 2025.

Looking Ahead to 2025

Thank you for your unwavering trust in Newberry Solutions over the past 16 years.  We are always here to support you with insights, advice, and thought leadership. As you plan for 2025, please reach out to us.  

Tap into the Power of Gratitude

As Thanksgiving draws near, it's a wonderful time to pause and reflect on this year's journey. 

Sometimes in the rush toward our next objectives, we might overlook the importance of celebrating our successes. This season, I encourage us all to take a step back and appreciate important milestones and positive experiences.

Image by Deborah Hudson from Pixabay

Acknowledging and being thankful for what is going well in our lives isn't just a feel-good exercise; it's a powerful catalyst for continuous growth and success. In this spirit, at Newberry Solutions, we've taken a moment to pause and reflect. Here are some things we are particularly thankful for:

Our clients. Their passion for and dedication to leadership development inspires us daily. We deeply value their trust and partnership — and their feedback, which led to us being recognized as an Inc. Power Partner this year.

Our support network. The people who have consistently supported us over the years have been the key to this company’s 15 years of success. We’re so fortunate to have them in our corner as a constant source of inspiration.

Our community. We're grateful that this year has brought us many opportunities to join with others through nonprofit organizations and other initiatives to make a real difference in the community in which we live and work.

Our platform. We have made great strides in our commitment to democratizing access to leadership development:

• Our New Lens® app has been implemented at several large enterprises with fantastic results this year, making leadership development more affordable and scalable

• Our recent Micro Summit: 4 Core Strategies for Success delivered insights from four phenomenal business and HR leaders.

• We’re sharing leadership strategies to an even wider audience through our articles in Forbes and Fast Company and speaking engagements for our clients and at events for D CEO, Ascend North Texas and AICPA & CIMA, among others.

Time and space. Personally, I am so thankful for the moments that have allowed me to recharge and reconnect with what truly matters. That has included hiking in Sedona and Whistler, adventures in Turks & Caicos, and celebrating several college admissions with my son.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I invite you to join me in reflecting. 

• What are you grateful for right now, personally and professionally?  

• What experiences have enriched your year, even if they were challenging ones? 

• Who do you want to express gratitude to as Thanksgiving approaches?

At Newberry Solutions, we're committed to your success through New Lens and other resources, and always in your corner cheering you on. Let's embrace this season of thanksgiving with a heart full of appreciation and commitment to make a positive impact.

Gratitude at Work Is More Important Than Ever

As we head into Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of gratitude at work, especially when things are challenging. 

Photo by alleksana

Research just keeps showing us all the ways that gratitude benefits both us and others:

• Feelings of gratitude can lower anxiety.

• Showing gratitude while doing stressful work helps your teammates feel less stress — and even helps their hearts work better.

• Gratitude helps us feel more optimistic and empathetic.

• It can also make us better at creative problem-solving.

Feeling grateful, and expressing that gratitude, doesn’t mean that you are glossing over very real challenges at work. But I also believe that there are many reasons to be grateful even when your job is at its most stressful.

To help you identify your own reasons to be grateful, I want to share one of my favorite gratitude exercises. It involves tapping into your feelings of gratitude for three kinds of people:

1. Your supporters, energizers and cheerleaders. Whether this year has been difficult, awesome or some combination of the two for you, there are always people who make a real difference in your life. Who has gotten you through the tough times? And who has helped you create the great moments of 2022? Pausing to feel gratitude for these people will lift your spirits. But actually expressing this gratitude will give you an even bigger boost and be deeply meaningful to the people you are thanking. What can you do to let them know that they’ve made your life better? One idea: Positive psychology pioneer Martin Seligman recommends "Gratitude Visits" as a way not only to honor that special person but also to improve your own well-being.

2. Your high performers. When things are busy and stressful, your high performers can get lost in the shuffle. It’s all too easy to take them for granted as you focus on underperformers who need more help to get the job done. We all also tend to leap from one project to the next without taking time to celebrate successes. But don’t forget that everyone needs to hear words of praise and gratitude. When your high performers feel appreciated, it can affect their engagement, morale and productivity. And with retention on everyone’s minds these days, that’s a really big deal.

3. The people who have tested you. At first, you may not see any reason to be grateful for your abrasive boss or difficult colleague who puts everyone on edge. But, whether you realize it or not, these individuals have taught you a lot about your values and who you are as a leader. I suggest writing thank-you notes (not to be sent!) to the people who drive you crazy. This practice can be liberating and help you identify the positives in a difficult situation.

What are you most grateful for at work this Thanksgiving? All of us at Newberry Solutions want to express our own gratitude for this vibrant community. Thank you for sharing your support and your insights with us, and for always keeping us motivated and inspired to create new resources for you. Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Looking for our series of articles on choosing a leadership training solution? We took a break this week for a holiday message. But we’ll be back next week with Part 2.

Tap Into the Power of Gratitude

With packed schedules at work and at home, it’s easy to lose sight of the whole point of this season of gratitude. Thinking about the things you are thankful for might even feel like just one more thing you’re supposed to do — not that you want to do.

Image by hudsoncrafted from Pixabay

However, expressing gratitude and appreciation has some pretty powerful benefits, both for others and ourselves:

• Feeling stressed? Even just thinking about the people you are grateful for can help.

• Gratitude can short-circuit negative emotions like envy, resentment and regret. 

• Positive psychology researcher Martin Seligman found that when people shared letters of gratitude with someone they had never properly thanked for their kindness, they immediately became happier — and stayed happier for the next month!

Whether your year so far has been awesome, so-so or difficult, think about who has helped you get through it all. Who are the people who brought that positive energy and helped you be more resilient? And who supported you through the toughest moments?

Your list might include the boss who always thinks about opportunities for you even when they have a lot on their plate. Or you may feel grateful for team members who have really stepped up this year or peers who have helped you juggle work and life. And then there are the family members and friends who have cheered you on toward your goals or shared wisdom and advice. You can even feel grateful for the people who push your buttons – like a micromanaging boss or a gossipy colleague. After all, these people are showing you a lot about who you don’t want to be and surfacing your core values.

In my own life, I am grateful this year for: 

• My amazing team who constantly backs me up, especially when I went through my cancer treatment. 

• The executives that I coach who had the courage to show vulnerability as we partnered to navigate through major challenges in the current environment.  

• The opportunity to partner with other executives in the community to lift others up, raise money for those in need, and drive social change. It reminds me how much difference a single person or idea can make.

How about you? Who is on your personal gratitude list as Thanksgiving gets closer? And how will you express your appreciation?

Grateful to Others? Let Them Know!

In this challenging year, it may be hard to remember the last time it didn't feel like your plate was full. When we're so busy, it's easy to overlook even important things — like the people who are making a difference in our lives.

As we get close to Thanksgiving, take a moment to reflect on the times this year when you've been elevated by the support and kindness of others.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Maybe this makes you think about the friend or former colleague who always seems to know when you need a cheerful call or text message. Or the boss who still finds the time to listen even though you know her schedule has gotten busier. Or your family members who have kept a good attitude despite changes in your routines.

Just by thinking about the people you are grateful for, you'll feel less stress. And who couldn't use that right now? But don't stop there. Let these people know how they've made your life better and how much you appreciate them. Your expression of gratitude will lift their spirits. And, again, you'll benefit, too. Positive psychology researcher Martin Seligman found that when people shared letters of gratitude with someone they had never properly thanked for their kindness, they immediately became happier — and stayed happier for the next month!

In my own life, I want to thank my sister, brother, aunt and cousins who have really gone the extra mile for me this year. Who is on your personal gratitude list? And how will you let them know about the important difference they have made for you?