As a kid, I never liked Thanksgiving much.  My undeveloped palette didn’t like the taste of stuffing, turkey was always boring, and I hadn’t yet realized the sheer bliss that can come from my mother’s pecan pie.  And I had zero interest in football.


 

As a kid, I never liked Thanksgiving much.  My undeveloped palette didn’t like the taste of stuffing, turkey was always boring, and I hadn’t yet realized the sheer bliss that can come from my mother’s pecan pie.  And I had zero interest in football.

 

 
Now that Thanksgiving week is here, I can’t stop thinking about this coming weekend.  Yes, I’m excited about the food, of course!  But I’m also thinking about traditions and the things I’m most thankful for in the world: a wonderful husband, mother, father, sister and family.  And then it hit me…how many times a year do I tell them I am thankful for them?  Usually it’s just around Thanksgiving when we are toasting and getting ready to dig into our feast.  The rest of the year, we are caught up in our own jobs and hectic lives that these types of things get lost in the shuffle, yet they are the most important people in the world to me.
 
The girls in my family at our annual “Cookiethon” Thanksgiving weekend
Why do we wait for a holiday to tell people we’re thankful for them or their efforts?  Because telling someone they have done a great job, or even having the time to notice ways people go “above and beyond” is always falling to the bottom of our priority list when everything else always seems to take precedence: fixing a problem, responding to those 100 emails waiting in your inbox, returning phone calls.
 
Showing appreciation to your staff members for a job well done is the most important time you can spend as a leader.  So go ahead and set aside a few minutes this week to tell them you care and why.  It will be the best time you spend this week as we get ready to spend this holiday and kick off the Christmas season.
 
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.  Wishing you safe travels, wonderful time with family and friends, and a fantastic meal!  (Oh, and GO BUCKS!)
 
Amanda

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]