Gratitude is the key to happiness. Happy workers are more productive workers. Together, happiness and gratitude create highly enjoyable relationships, and relationships are everything in our careers.

Whether you are a transformed motivational leader working to build a dynamic culture, or you are in business development looking to bring in more clients while taking care of existing clients, or if you are looking to make a career change or advance in your career, the more you practice showing and acknowledging your gratitude, the more you feed and grow relationships with a really good vibe.

It is also important to acknowledge people’s good work because it contributes to a company’s growth and success. When people are acknowledged, they feel truly a part of the company and this encourages them to want to continue to give to and grow with the company. So give credit where credit is due.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Have your acknowledgements be sincere.

Let the people know specifically what they did and what it meant to you. Don’t assume they know or they won’t get to hear it. Importantly, acknowledge who they were being – let them know you recognize who they are and what they stand for in a way that demonstrates that you know what they care about. For example, I would say this to my blog team: “Thank you for helping me come up with and publish these blog topics every week. You make sure we come up with excellent points and you help me think them through, which I couldn’t do the same without you. I appreciate how thoughtful, insightful and committed you are in having us deliver useful, simple and powerful ideas with the people who read our blog.”

2. Keep track of your acknowledgements.

If you want to carry an attitude of gratitude every day, each night make a list of the people whose contributions you are grateful for and what they did. Express your complete gratitude the next day.

3. Surprise people.

Acknowledge people when they least expect it. That shows an extra generosity of spirit and is a lot of fun.

4. Show gratitude for bad news.

Be grateful for set-backs and problems. That sounds counterintuitive, but if you show an appreciation for people telling you things that might be difficult for them to communicate, you open the door to more open and honest communication. This leads to an awareness of what’s going on and that could make the difference between success and failure. I will enlighten you more on this next week when we talk about handling problems powerfully.

So what about you? How will you practice showing gratitude? Who in your world deserves a thorough and sincere acknowledgement from you today?