Page 4 - The EDGE Fall 2024

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

BY FRANCIE WOLFE-BAUMANN
Is Gratitude Trending!

Francie Wolfe-Baumann
Gratitude. It’s seemingly such a simple word, but First, gratitude must be intentional. It's important
the thoughts and actions behind it often are not. Its to take time to recognize and reflect on the efforts
expression can vary so greatly based on the person of those around us. Maybe it's the purchasing
expressing the gratitude, what they are grateful for staff member who caught a critical error, or the
and their relationship to the individual. While we transportation staff who worked late to ensure
can find it easy to be grateful to our family and safe and timely transportation for students.
friends, how do we practice gratitude at work? When we make an intentional effort to notice
these contributions, it becomes easier to express
In the busy world of school business, it's easy gratitude in a meaningful way.
to focus on tasks, deadlines, and the seemingly
endless challenges that arise. The workload can feel Second, gratitude should be specific. A generic
overwhelming, and often the quiet contributions “thank you” is nice, but a detailed acknowledgment
of staff can go unnoticed. Yet, these are the very of someone’s actions is far more impactful. Instead
people whose efforts keep our district and schools of just saying, “Thank you for your hard work,”
running smoothly. From payroll teams paying consider saying, “Thank you for staying late
district employees to operations staff ensuring to ensure the budget report was accurate. Your
facilities are functional and safe, each person plays attention to detail made a big difference.”
a vital role in the success of our school districts.
Finally, create opportunities for staff to express
Practicing gratitude in the workplace isn't just gratitude toward each other. This can be done
about saying "thank you." It’s about creating a through staff meetings, internal newsletters, or a
culture where people feel valued and appreciated simple recognition board in the office. Peer-to-
for the work they do. A quote from Maya Angelou peer recognition is a powerful tool that not only
summarized this well: "I've learned that people strengthens relationships but also promotes a
will forget what you said, people will forget what collaborative work environment. When everyone
you did, but people will never forget how you feels empowered to share their appreciation, it
made them feel." This quote highlights the lasting encourages a positive and supportive culture.
impact of our actions and words, emphasizing
the importance of fostering an environment of In our roles as school business officials, we
appreciation. manage more than just budgets and operations –
we also manage people. Taking the time to practice
Expressing genuine gratitude toward our staff gratitude toward our teams not only strengthens
acknowledges their contributions, boosts morale, individual connections but also enhances the
and fosters a sense of belonging. This can lead to overall efficiency and spirit of our organizations.
higher job satisfaction, improved performance, Gratitude might be a simple word, but its impact on
and a stronger team dynamic. But how do we make workplace culture is anything but simple. How will
this a reality? you practice gratitude within your organization?

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4 THE EDGE FALL 2024