It’s here: the time of year when our thoughts turn to giving and gratitude. Like clockwork, the holiday season brings focus to the heart, increasing our awareness around appreciation and what we can give or do for others.

At MAP, we know great leaders express gratitude and give in various ways year-round. But the holidays do provide an additional opportunity to pause and think about how we can lift up our people and reinforce our efforts to create motivated, empowered cultures.

To be clear, while you may provide employees with holiday bonuses or other tokens of appreciation, there are some invaluable “gifts” you can give them, those that may require investment but more than pay for themselves over time. These gifts play a role in validating your employees’ worth, build connection, provide motivation, drive performance, and lead to both positive results and stronger employee retention.

The gift of a good listening session. It’s been a challenging year for all. The pandemic has rocked our sense of security and safety. Ask your employees how they’re doing and practice active listening: listening more, talking less (think “80/20 Rule”); asking questions that result in more than a “yes” or “no” answer; and requesting that they develop and share with you any solutions to challenges that they, their team or the organization is facing. Above all, ask how you, as their leader, can do a better job supporting them, both in pandemic and non-pandemic times.

The gift of security. While it’s always best to avoid promises you can’t keep, you can increase people’s sense of psycho-emotional security through excellent communication. This means communication that’s transparent, consistent and mindful of tone, voice and delivery. And when you communicate any action you plan to take, honor your commitments and, if anything gets derailed or sidetracked, keep people in the loop. The trust you build around effective communication, action and follow-through is gold.

The gift of growth. In listening to your people, what have you discovered they want to learn and what do they need to do their jobs better? Maybe it’s upskilling or reskilling—often a far less expensive alternative than replacing “stuck” or “misplaced” but otherwise valuable employees. Or maybe it’s tools, like the soon-to-be-released MAPapp, designed to provide 24/7 accountability at your fingertips and keep everyone aligned and committed to their vital goals. MAP’s management and leadership training workshops, slated for Spring 2021, may be the ticket to empowering existing managers or rising leaders within your teams. Employees want to grow their skills as part of their career-pathing. It’s rewarding for them and becomes a solid employee-retention strategy that gives you a competitive advantage from a hiring standpoint. This season, when you choose the gift of growth, you are truly choosing a gift that keeps on giving.

Follow MAP to learn more about the upcoming workshops and MAPapp!