Kerry Wekelo, CEO of Actualize Consulting and author of The Gratitude Infusion, has earned the Healthiest Company Award along with three major culture recognitions: Top Company Culture by Entrepreneur Magazine, Top Workplace by The Washington Post, and a Great Place to Work certification. Can practicing gratitude really do all that?

Wekelo believes it can. She found gratitude to be a powerful tool for communication, personal wellness, work-life balance, conflict resolution, and team connection. When she infused gratitude into her leadership, clients noticed something shift. Employees showed up energized, put real care into their work, and felt excited to keep innovating.

Clients described Actualize Consulting as purposeful, positive, and proactive. They even noted the company’s growing influence in making the world better, at a time when that kind of leadership is desperately needed.

The goal was simple. Use gratitude as a daily practice to create a more meaningful workplace. Leading with gratitude meant expressing it whenever it felt genuine.

One exercise Wekelo often uses is called Spread Gratitude Outward. Participants spend two minutes sharing what they are grateful for with a partner while the partner simply listens. The exercise shows how quickly your perspective can shift when you name the good things right in front of you.

A practice that seems simple can transform both personal well-being and workplace culture. A genuine culture of positivity reaches places that traditional interventions often cannot.

When facing challenges or conflict, Wekelo uses her 3P Method: Pause, Pivot, Positive Possibilities. Here is how it works.

Leading with gratitude helps leaders diffuse tense situations and build authentic relationships. The real impact is how people feel. Wekelo’s principles center on movement, breathing, nourishment, communication, handling challenges, and doing something you love each day.

Neuroscientist Glenn Fox explains it this way: “Gratitude relies on the brain networks associated with social bonding and stress relief. This may explain how grateful feelings lead to health benefits over time. Feeling grateful and recognizing help from others creates a more relaxed body state and allows the benefits of lowered stress to wash over us.”

Instead of hunting for a formula that forces employees to perform or resolve conflict faster, gratitude offers a healthier path. It becomes a way of life rather than a tactic.

Psychologist Robert A. Emmons notes that gratitude is linked to lower stress hormones, higher self-esteem, stronger willpower, better relationships, deeper spirituality, more creativity, and improved academic performance.

One in three employees (30%) report being demotivated when they feel undervalued, impacting their overall performance and well-being. I can personally attest to this. If I do not feel appreciated, I am already looking for another job. It is the quickest way to either motivate me or drain every ounce of energy I have.

“Gratitude is related to 23% lower levels of stress hormones, increases self-esteem, enhances willpower, strengthens relationships, deepens spirituality, boosts creativity and improves academic performance.” – The Psychology of Gratitude, leading psychologist, Robert A. Emmons

Convincing leaders to adopt a grateful mindset is not always easy. Gratitude is free and well-researched, but sharing genuine appreciation can feel uncomfortable. Culture change requires leaders to stretch their interpersonal skills, especially when conflict, incivility, or disengagement are present.

If nothing changes, nothing changes. At some point, the focus must shift from profit to people. When employees feel supported in their goals, careers, and well-being, great work follows. The bottom line grows because the people driving it are thriving. Resistance from leadership usually fades once they see the impact.

In a 12-week study on gratitude, researchers Joel Wong and Joshua Brown asked participants to write weekly gratitude letters. The improvements in mental health were stronger than expected and continued even after the writing stopped. Gratitude gets easier the more you practice.

Here are a few forms of receiving gratitude, based on The Gratitude Infusion:

1. Self-appreciation: acknowledge what you bring to the table.
2. Seeing gratitude everywhere: a smile, a walk, a small moment of ease.
3. Accepting appreciation: saying “Thank you, I accept” builds healthy reciprocity.

A simple place to start is adding a gratitude icebreaker to the beginning or end of your meetings. Ask the team to share what they appreciate about someone in the room. Make sure every person is recognized. Wekelo notes that people are often surprised to learn others are grateful for their efforts.

Remember that not everyone wants public recognition. Some employees appreciate one-on-one acknowledgment more. For those who are hesitant about the whole concept of gratitude, focus on the outcomes: improved engagement, stronger motivation, and more successful collaboration.

Gratitude can seem like a soft practice until you see how vital it is for performance and morale. At HRinsidr, we always say it is never about the work, it’s about the people. Leaders miss this constantly. I have watched organizations struggle with low engagement, poor profits, and frustrated teams without ever connecting the dots between those struggles and the people who show up every day.

You cannot achieve results without your people. When leaders fail to use solutions that support human behavior, their results suffer.

Gratitude does not require an advanced training program or a big investment. It starts with acknowledging what we bring to each other and what we value in the workplace. In the polarized, stressful environment we are all navigating, a culture of gratitude can change everything. It only takes practice.