Giving Thanks: the Power of Gratitude

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA, one of the most celebrated holidays in the world. The amount of people that travel to reach their families and friends is incredible, especially for a country we often assume to be cold and capitalist.

The spiritual value at the core of this holiday is gratitude and often unconsidered quality in a working environment. Yet there are scientific proofs that Gratitude brings along emotional and physical well-being, both for the receiver and the giver, sometimes becoming a healing experience.

Reflecting on the Power of Gratitude is critical in many ways, as it helps refocus on what matters for us. Below a list of many elements that can help in the development of gratitude.

Gratitude is also vital in the development of self-esteem and self-confidence, and we can immediately see a crucial tie with business value. Authentic Leaders, for example, are always keen on giving thanks.

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer

Maya Angelou

A few of the people I’m thankful to.

When I stop and reflect on how I got where I am, it’s immediately visible the impact that many people have had on my life. From a professional point of view, there’s been the mentors, the managers, the partners but above all the collaborators and team members that all have added to how I have become. I realise I’ve been a sponge in many ways, absorbing ideas, emotions, knowledge, skills and experiences. The list is long, and for sure incomplete. Also because often I can frame a concept that derives from an encounter of my life, sometimes years after this happened.

My Teams

Today I want to start with my collaborators, people I’ve often selected and hired in my career (or sometimes I found as part of the teams I joined). The learnings I got through these people have been the more persistent, and I am more and more thankful for a lot of these. I won’t be able to name everybody, but for sure I want to start with Gianmario Trovò who started his career long time ago in Summit in Milan. Same as Andrea Santin although I only took part in his recruiting. From my period at Diesel I have to thank Fabio Saccà who started his professional career as an intern back then, Karin Manoukian who helped me navigate the new reality and Silvia Favaro who helped me understand the value of challenging questions.

From my period at Deloitte, it’s not easy to single out few people, due to the enormous size of a company and the high number of brilliant minds that I met in all projects, but I can’t avoid thanking Pedro Crespo and Manu Thommes.

My experience at VF has been marked by the creation of a truly unique team. Different personalities, different skills, different career trajectories, but all together have made this period the most fulfilling learning experience of my professional life. So thank you to Alejandro Martinez, Amir Siddiqi, Andrea Tonelli, Andrew Donovan, Anika Kolbinsky, Anila Patel, Cien Currinckx, Cristiano Consorte, Daniele Moriconi, Dorota Stopczyk, Ebru Gücyener, Elena Laghi, Fabio Rizza, Francesca Giulia Citterio, Gianluca Fichera, Javier Richarte, Kate Macartney, Katherine Clarke, Lotte Willemstein, Marion LeGrix, Myriam Abitbol, Nor Bjerregård, Oliver Luft, Peter van Hoof, Rubina Reush, Sandra Engellau, Sandra Olivera Goñi, Sandra Tontic, Sharon Dosanjh, Tiffany Trazzi, Veronika Bienert, Youness Kaissi.

I would be a different person without the work done with you all.

The true Power of Gratitude

Its’s not about settling down, but about continuing to strive for development. When you realize how much you learn from each encounter, you immediately see the energy it creates. And when you think of your collaborators, you feel immediately the duty to give back.

I think this is the strength of saying thanks, the real Power of Gratitude.

And you? What are you going to be grateful for today?