10/09/2025

The Power of Gratitude and Acknowledgement in Systems

Boost your brain function through gratitude

As the year draws to a close, my first reaction is to reflect on what's been achieved, what's been celebrated and what's been learnt. I am grateful for the privilege of the work I do and also like to reflect on who I've been: How have I shown up? Have I shown up consistently? When I didn't, why was that and what can I learn from that?

There is nothing more human than not wanting to sit with these questions, and the emotions they provoke, yet this is what keeps us human, paradoxically – and this is how we grow as human beings, as opposed to human doings.

So, where does this leave us, particularly as we move into an increasingly technology-oriented and hybrid workplace? We have an ancient fear of tech taking over our lives and our humanity, but it is really a means to meet business objectives; leaders must align their objectives with human objectives and outcomes, and use the alignment to build tech around them. "Tech humanist," author and founder and CEO of KO Insights, Kate O'Neill, and I discuss this issue, among many others, in our latest podcast on tech humanism (listen here). We talk about how we must invest in building trust and repairing division, interacting with people in person, and hearing and listening to others. Cicero tells us that "silence is one of the great arts of conversation," and, indeed, we need to take a step back to be present and listen to ourselves, our teams and the system, and consider: What do we have? What is happening? What questions do we need to be asking?

Please select this link to read the complete article from Transform for Value.