Cultivate a Culture of Gratitude in the Salon

As we approach this holiday season, it is only natural to take a nostalgic moment and reflect on the many things we have to be grateful for.  Gratitude is a powerful emotion. It’s one that I wish we could bottle and open up when the day-to-day gets tough and we lose sight of the things most important to us! It is so simplistic in that the things for which we are most grateful typically can’t be bought or fabricated.

Lets take a look at what it means to possess gratitude. Gratitude is defined as the quality of being thankful. It also means the readiness to show appreciation and to show kindness.

Re-read those statements and let them sink in. Simplistic in nature but so powerful if consistently practiced.

How do we create a culture of gratitude and thankfulness in our businesses? How do we keep those feelings on the forefront of our minds? i think it all comes down to intentionality.  Here are some examples:

- What gets practiced and praised gets repeated.

- Make a point in your morning team huddles, staff meetings and/or your one on one times to take a moment and reflect on things you are grateful for. It starts things off on the right foot and shows your team that anytime we are gathered, we want to shine a light on all that we are grateful for.

- Highlight anyone in your staff that you see showing gratitude. Praise them in front of their peers. It will show them that this is the standard you want all staff to live up to.

It starts at the top.

Make sure your leadership buys into gratitude and thankfulness as a quality and that they make every effort to show it to the people around them.

This can be demonstrated to your staff through verbal affirmation, notes and cards, or small thoughtful gifts just to say thank you.

These are very simple tips that can yield very BIG results. As we approach the Thanksgiving season intentionally stop, reflect and truly give thanks. It truly is one of the simplest ways to empower those around us to do great things.

About: Wendy White-McCown is the owner of Signatures Salon in Lake Charles, LA. If your salon is anything like Signatures, employees want to work less and make more... This sounds like an oxymoron, but with lots of thought and execution, this has become a reality in their salon. For more information visit 3dayworkweeksc.blogspot.com.