Recently I was engaged in a discussion with a leader about the lack of effort made to express appreciation in the workplace. “Really, someone can’t walk down the hall to express appreciation, they send an email!” So the point isn’t just that you express appreciation, it is how you make someone feel.

The truth is we all know what she is talking about.

There are times in life when everything falls into place nicely, and it becomes what we expect. There are other times when things seem to go wrong at every turn – mistakes are made, deadlines are missed and conflicts occur. It is in these moments we catch ourselves saying ‘nothing’ ever goes right! So how can we create a balance between the negative and positive?

A client recently shared how impressed he was with the effort his team put into thinking through a new strategy for their business. He articulated how creative and committed they were to building out the best solution. I could feel his pride.