It does seem a little early to be wishing people a merry Christmas, doesn’t it? But there’s a reason why I’m doing this, and I’ll be providing you with the reason in just a moment. But first, the following:

One of my clients sent me a gorgeous email this week- I’ll be keeping it forever. It was a very nice ‘thank-you’ for some coaching I gave him on a presentation he was making in Zurich last week. Things went well, and he acknowledged the help he had received.

Feeling how pleased I was to receive his note of thanks reminded me of the importance of thanking. How often do you thank those around you who assist you? For me, this is a truly important habit of any good leader: recognising support or performance and thanking the relevant person. This is not only polite and endearing, it is highly motivating. Recognition is top of the list of basic human needs, and people don’t forget thank-yous. In fact, many people tell me that they most favour the clients or friends who remember to say ‘thank-you.’ It’s just a little word, but it can have a huge impact.

So, back to Merry Christmas! Why so early? Well, at the end of this week, my 2-month sabbatical begins and I will be out of Switzerland (except for a very few days) until the end of the year. First of all, I am leading a small group to Ethiopia where we will be supporting the Rainbows4children school in Mekelle (www.Rainbows4children.org) with teaching activities, and the wonderful Swiss organisation HELVETAS which is doing such important work in Ethiopia in creating sustainable livelihoods for the nation’s rural population. After that, Christmas will be spent DOWN UNDER with family members.

Our blog will go on hold until the beginning of January, but don’t worry: there are more than enough articles for you to work on in the blog archives. So, thank you for your visits and comments, and best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a swinging leap into 2010. I’ll be back to talk to you again at the opening of the new year.
Lesley Stephenson