Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results

“The expression of gratitude for employees’ efforts... can be a huge motivation and productivity booster,” observe Gostick and Elton, cofounders of a training company, the Culture Works, and authors of The Carrot Principle, who labor to stretch out a full book on this simple principle. Gratitude, they propose, is good for teams, individuals, and the bottom line, and mastering its practice and expression can help managers engage and inspire their workforce. The coauthors present statistics, derived from a research study they commissioned, demonstrating that appreciative bosses have better motivated and more effective employees, but the only effect is to put numbers behind what everyone already knows. Gostick and Elton break down myths including fear is the best motivator, kids these days are too approval-hungry, and good managers parcel out praise sparingly, then walk readers through how to express gratitude meaningfully and encourage intra-team recognition. The book hinges on eight gratitude practices (such as “tailor to the individual,” “assume positive intent,” and “walk in their shoes”), which could be easily covered in a listicle. Chatty and friendly but ultimately skeletal, this is a better elevator pep talk than it is a full-length primer. Agent: James Levine, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Mar.)