Navigating Uncertainty: Lessons for Mission-Driven Leaders from the Sailboat

I loved sailing at summer camps growing up.  It was similar to flying and taught me many valuable life lessons.  In sailing, being "in irons" refers to when a boat is pointed directly into the wind, causing it to lose momentum and become temporarily unsteerable. For mission-driven CEOs, this scenario serves as a powerful metaphor for periods in business where we feel stuck or stalled, especially in uncertain times. Just as a sailor must adjust their sails and angle to catch the wind again, leaders must continually re-evaluate strategies to align their leadership team to boldly move forward. Staying "in irons" is not just inefficient; it’s potentially hazardous, as it leaves us vulnerable to shifting conditions without the ability to steer effectively.

In times of economic and market uncertainty, the instinct to pull back or wait for more favorable conditions can feel safe but often results in stagnation and missed opportunity. Business leaders, much like sailors, need to keep a constant eye on the “wind” or evolving customer needs and market conditions to adjust their course. This requires not only a commitment to regularly evolving your strategy and strong execution but also a clear understanding of the organization's core mission and values to guide each decision. Just as a sailor knows their destination, leaders need a clear vision, ensuring that every adjustment aligns with long-term goals rather than short-term, fear based, reactions.

The art of Scaling Up a mission-driven business includes mastering the balance between staying true to purpose and adapting to changing winds and making sure you have the right leadership team “crew” in the boat with you. 

In uncertain times, it’s essential to equip teams with the agility and resilience to move swiftly and “square up” in response to both opportunities and challenges. Avoiding "iron" moments means embracing a mindset of proactive course correction, encouraging innovation, and empowering people to take action. When leaders demonstrate this adaptability, they create a culture that not only survives uncertainty but thrives in it—just as a skilled sailor makes headway, even in challenging winds.

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Key questions:

1. What have you learned about your leadership team “WHO’s” in the current environment?

2. Where are you taking your team for your next quarterly and annual strategic planning and execution offsite?  (Insert link in the blog to more resources)

3. Do you have key functions you need to find the right WHO to join your leadership team to realize your desired vision?

4. How are you communicating regularly with your leadership team?  What is your communication rhythm with your entire company?

Olympics Miracle on Ice - The power of coaches and leaders to set the stage

During my senior year of high school, my varsity soccer team made it to the state finals. I'll never forget our coach telling us that we had exceeded his expectations—even though we ultimately lost the deciding game.  That experience taught me about the power of a great coach and leader to create an environment where a team can perform at its full potential, and sometimes even beyond it. A prime example of this is the 1980 US Hockey team.

Actionable Leadership from an Olympic Coach

During the 1980 Winter Olympics, with the Cold War as a tense backdrop, the USA Men’s Hockey team was set to play the Soviet Union in the championship game for the gold medal. Herb Brooks, the USA Head Coach, didn't just prepare his team for a game—he inspired them to achieve the impossible.  Through the power of his pregame speech, Brooks created a space where the team could transcend expectations and reach greatness.

“Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game. If we played ‘em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It’s over.” — Herb Brooks, 1980 Olympic USA Men’s Hockey Coach

Herb set the stage for his team to believe in themselves and achieve the extraordinary by defeating the Soviet Union 4-3.. Similarly in the business world, the power of a leader to inspire their team cannot be underestimated.  Just as Brooks ignited a belief in his players, leaders in high-growth companies have the opportunity to create a culture where teams rise to the occasion, seize the moment, and exceed expectations.

Applicable Best Practices for CEOs and Leadership Teams

1. Acknowledge Reality but Inspire Possibility: Great coaches don’t shy away from the truth. They acknowledge the reality of the situation but frame it in a way that inspires hope and action.

2. Focus on the Team’s Strengths: Highlight what the team has accomplished and what they are capable of. This builds confidence and a sense of purpose.

3. Create a Sense of Urgency: Impart a sense of the unique opportunity at hand. Make it clear that the moment is special and worth giving everything for.

4. Positive Reinforcement: Use language that inspires and uplifts  rather than criticizes or diminishes. Even if the odds are against them, teams need to believe that they will succeed.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:

• Who are some of the most inspiring coaches you’ve had or witnessed?  What techniques did they use?

• How are you setting the stage for your leadership team to reach its full growth and impact potential?

• What other leadership lessons do you apply from your sports experience to your companies?

Unleash Your Team's Genius with the Working Genius Model

We all have natural gifts and when we better understand our unique strengths and frustrations, the transformation we see in our work and life is amazing. You may already be familiar with The Working Genius model, by Patrick Lencioni, and it is often one of the first assessments that I use with all my clients. It goes beyond just identifying your working geniuses or frustrations - it also helps you understand how they either fuel your energy and motivation or take away from it. By recognizing the specific types of work that bring you joy and excitement, you can harness that energy to achieve peak performance.

In its most simplistic form, the Working Genius model identifies six types of working genius or frustrations. Your geniuses fuel your energy and your frustrations take away from it. These are:

Wonder: This type of genius is skilled at asking questions and exploring new possibilities. They are curious and have a natural ability to see the bigger picture.

Invention: This genius is creative and innovative. They excel at generating new ideas and finding unique solutions to problems.

Discernment: This genius has a keen eye for detail and is skilled at making judgments and decisions. They can analyze information and weigh different options effectively.

Galvanizing: This genius is a natural leader who can rally others around a common goal or vision. They inspire and motivate their team members to achieve greatness.

Enablement: This genius is excellent at supporting others and helping them succeed. They provide the necessary resources, guidance, and encouragement for individuals or teams to thrive.

Tenacity: This genius possesses exceptional perseverance and determination. They have the ability to push through challenges and obstacles with unwavering resolve.

Why is understanding your working geniuses and frustrations so important? Individuals and teams are better equipped to focus on tasks and projects that align with their natural abilities, leading to:

Increased Productivity: When you understand your unique strengths, you can focus more on tasks that align with your areas of genius. This leads to increased energy and productivity as you are doing what you love and are naturally good at.

Improved Collaboration: By understanding the unique geniuses of each leadership team member, teams can benefit from improved trust and cohesion for more effective collaboration.

Enhanced Job Satisfaction: When you're able to work in your area of genius, job satisfaction naturally increases and you feel valued and successful.

Leadership Genius Gap Awareness: Being aware of the specific skills and strengths that are missing from your team is crucial for effective leadership. This awareness enables you to understand what qualities to prioritize when recruiting new members.

The Working Genius assessment offers a valuable tool for individuals and teams to maximize their potential. By understanding and leveraging their unique strengths, individuals can focus on tasks that align with their areas of genius, leading to increased productivity and job satisfaction. It allows teams to collaborate more effectively by recognizing and utilizing each team member's unique genius. The Working Genius assessment promotes a work environment where individuals and teams can thrive and succeed. 

Contact me if you are interested in learning more.

Insights for the Second Half of 2023

We are at the end of our second quarter, 50% through 2023. What a year it's been!

As we move into the second half of the year, how are you elevating your business and continuing the momentum you gained in the first half.

1. Clarity - How has your vision been clarified?

• What have you learned in customer conversations over the last couple of months?

• What are the key trends that are creating new opportunities for you?

• How can you add additional value for those you serve?

2. Commitments - What is showing up for you related to your commitments?

Where are you seeing even greater results than you expected? As you look ahead to the second half of the year, what new commitments or reinforced commitments are you making related to:

• Your Health?

• Key Relationships?

• Your Senior Team

• Your Customers

• Your Community

• What are you no longer going to tolerate?

3. Calendar - How are you leveraging your calendar to allocate your time towards the things that matter most to you and give you the most energy?

We have a limited amount of time in a day. One major trend that we are seeing is the exhaustion and tiredness experienced by many exceptional leaders.

It is so important that we utilize the summer period to replenish our energy, rejuvenate ourselves, and contemplate the various new possibilities that lie ahead. Additionally, we need to maintain our commitment to investing in our senior team and ensuring that we have the right people in the right seats, individuals who also share the same passion for the culture we have fostered—a culture that strives to make a positive impact for the greater good.

4. Communication - Are you engaging with your team and your larger organization effectively?

Frequent communication with your team and your larger organization is crucial to success. A great way to do that is to ensure that your meetings with your senior team end with these four questions.

1. What did we decide?

2. Who will do what? And by when?

3. What do we need to cascade? Who needs to know?

4. What won't we share? Are these topics highly confidential or has it been aligned at the senior team level?

These learnings come from my most recent work to become certified in Patrick Lencioni's Working Genius model.

The benefits of the Working Genius model for both individuals leaders and your team include clarity on their unique professional gifts, greater engagement with the team and a way to build trust through vulnerability and better understanding of fellow team members.

I'm happy to share this assessment with anyone, if you're interested please reach out!

Warmest Regards,

Ethan & the PFD Team

An Inspiring Big Hairy Audacious Goal: The Key to Long-Term Success

We are excited to share our updated BHAG - We made our BHAG measurable, and it is a result of a significant takeaway from our global Scaling Up coaching work - people flourish when they have a good job.  Everything begins with a good job, and the CEOs we partner with share our passion for creating jobs that allow their team to flourish.

In their book Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras identified a key to long-term success for any organization: a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). A BHAG is a long-term goal that is so clear and compelling that it inspires people to take action and achieve great things.

Here are some examples of great BHAGs:

Put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
- President John F. Kennedy

Become the world's most customer-centric company.
- Amazon

Put a computer on every desktop and in every home.
- Bill Gates

These BHAGs are clear, compelling, and ambitious. They inspire and motivate people to achieve something great, and they help to rally people around a common goal.

When an organization has a BHAG, it creates a culture of innovation and creativity. People are constantly looking for new ways to achieve their goals, and they are willing to take risks and experiment. This leads to new products, services, and technologies that can help the organization achieve its goals.

A BHAG also helps to create a sense of urgency. When people know that they are working towards a specific goal, they are more likely to be motivated and focused. They are also more likely to be willing to make sacrifices in order to achieve the goal.

HOW TO ESTABLISH YOUR BHAG

A BHAG is not something that can be achieved overnight. It takes time, effort, and dedication. But if an organization is willing to put in the work, a BHAG can be a powerful tool for long-term success.
So if you are looking for a way to improve your organization, consider setting a BHAG.

Here are some tips for setting a BHAG:

• Make it clear and compelling. Your BHAG should be something that people can easily understand and rally behind. It should be something that inspires them to take action and motivates them to achieve more.

• Make it ambitious. Your BHAG should be something that is challenging and ambitious. It should be something that will require a lot of effort and dedication to achieve.

• Make it specific. Your BHAG should be something that is specific and measurable. It should be something that you can track your progress towards.

• Make it time-bound. Your BHAG should be something that has a specific deadline. This will help to create a sense of urgency and help you to stay focused on achieving the goal.

If you follow these tips, you will be well on your way to setting a BHAG that will help your organization achieve long-term success.

Have you updated your BHAG? Please share your BHAG in the comments.

Grit and the Want-To Factor (™): High Doers for Your Company's Success

In her groundbreaking 2013 Ted Talk, viewed by more than 25 million people, award-winning author, psychologist, and professor Angela Lee Duckworth explores the question, “who is successful and why.”

The answer boils down less to talent, she says, and more to an X factor known as “grit.” But what exactly is grit? 

“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals,” said Duckworth in the Ted Talk. “Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality.” 

The Want-To Factor (™)

Grit also happens to be one of the pinnacles of PFD Group’s “Want-To Factor,” a trademarked designation that identifies the ultimate doers of any group. People with high Want-To Factors are the most likely to get things done. Not only do they see a vision for the future, but they also mentally visualize completing the necessary tasks to make that vision a reality. 

Importantly, none of the elements that contribute to higher Want-To Factors are directly related to talent, a fact that is backed up by Duckworth’s research.

“Our data show very clearly that there are many talented individuals who simply do not follow through on their commitments. In fact, in our data, grit is usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent.”

How to Find High Want-To Candidates

Following a rigorous hiring process can significantly increase your ability to find, recognize and hire talent with high Want-To Factors. One such method is the Topgrading Method, a 12-step process that improves “the productivity, profitability, and progress of an organization by recruiting, hiring, and developing teams of top performers.”

We also recommend taking the principles outlined by Jim Collins on strategy flywheels and apply them to your recruiting process. We’ve built such a tool, which we’ve called the Talent Flywheel, which can help you build key steps on recruiting, selecting, developing and retaining the right leaders in the right roles, so it becomes a repeatable process for your organization. 

Hire For Core Values

While ambition can lead to higher Want-To Factors, it is also critical to avoid confusing ambition with blind ambition–or employees seeking only personal wins. Instead, it is important to bring in A-Players who have a built-in community mindset. 

This community mindset is another reason why it is critical to have and hire against a strong set of core values. As people increasingly select work environments that align with their personal beliefs, companies with strong Core Values stand to attract the best of the best among these belief-driven employees. 

On a side note, hiring team members that fit our core values is a central topic in my upcoming book, The Mentorship Engine, which I co-wrote with Ramsey Jay Jr. Stay tuned for information on that book coming soon! 

Hiring from Non-Traditional Sources

To find amazing employees, you may also consider detouring away from traditional hiring sources, although you likely won’t have to veer much farther beyond your own backyard. 

Exploring community partnerships can provide new pathways to finding A Players with high Want-To Factors. Are there local universities, nonprofit organizations or board of directors that could connect you with potential employees? 

Part of your business strategy is to invest in your community. Building relationships with other community leaders can help you meet those goals, while also leading you to great new sources of talent. 

Need help identifying candidates with high Want-To scores? The PFD Group can help. That’s what we do every day, as we consult with 100+ satisfied global business leaders. For more information, contact us for an introductory call.

At PFD Group, we have built a Want-To-Score (™ pending), which is a designation that identifies the ultimate doers of any group. These are the people who are most likely to get things done. They have the grit and tenacity to not only see the vision for the future, but also have the vision of how to see the necessary tasks are completed to make this vision a reality 

If you’d like to learn more about how to identify your Want-To players or how to build the ideal annual planning meeting, contact us for more information.

Exploring Our Global Community: Culture & Opportunities

What an exciting time to be an entrepreneur! 

If you’re a regular follower of our PFD Group blog, you already know I’m an optimist. I think Bob Iger, the newly reinstated Walt Disney Company CEO, said it best in his book The Ride of a Lifetime. “Even in the face of difficulty, an optimistic leader will find the path toward the best possible outcome and focus on that, rather than give in to pessimism and blaming.” 

A Case for Optimism

As we look forward to a new year, it might be tempting to dwell on past difficulties that slowed our progress. Or to focus on the challenges we already know may face in the coming year. Or we could focus on the fact that 2023 is and will be a time of great opportunity. 

First, there is awesome power in our resumed ability to travel for pleasure and for business. Sure, Zoom filled a gap when the world huddled indoors, but nothing is better at building positive “organizational outcomes” than in-person meetings. 

I recently returned from a weeklong trip to India to consult with a PFD Group client and I’m excited about the opportunities that await. I’ve returned home energized by my learnings in India and by having cultural exchanges with various diverse communities I met while in Asia. 

Travel Industry Challenges

I’m less excited about the roadblocks the travel industry, especially airlines and airports, are creating for travelers. Industry experts are predicting that it might be 2026 before the corporate travel sector returns to 2019 levels, and my experiences at London Heathrow Airport suggest that airports aren’t doing much to encourage frequent business travelers to return to the skies. 

During my stopover at Heathrow, I witnessed a level of apathy I have never seen before. Lines were brutally long–two hours to reclaim baggage–.and airport customer service seemed to be largely checked out and unresponsive. There were a few heroes but they were few and far between. 

As a traveler and a human being, I realize that we don’t always know everything others are experiencing and it is important for us to share both grace and truth.  But as a business leader and executive coach, I also know how vitally important it is to give our employees the tools and training they need so they can serve as full ambassadors for our businesses. 

What’s Your Talent Strategy? 

Talent–and the proper training of that talent–will probably continue to be a major issue throughout 2023. After all, Forbes recently dubbed finding great talent as The War for Talent. 

But instead of focusing on the attention-getting headlines about the great resignation or quiet quitting, entrepreneurs should also recognize that there is an incredible pool of talent looking for new opportunities right now.

While the major layoffs–and position vacating–at some of the world’s leading tech companies may not be great news for those employees in the short term, it does provide an incredible opportunity for organizations looking to build up their leadership teams. 

We can help with that. If you’d like help attracting and coaching great leaders, PFD Group can help. That’s what we do every day, as we consult with 100+ satisfied global business leaders. For more information, contact us for an introductory call.

What Makes a Great Leader?

Since the beginning of time, humans have loved the story of the underdog. From Cinderella to Erin Brockovich to the 1980 U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team (dubbed the Miracle on Ice), the idea of a person rising from nothing to conquer his or her way to the top has a timeless appeal.

What history doesn’t always remember, however, are the great leaders supporting these illustrious come-from-behind heroes. Cinderella had her fairy godmother and a team of mice, Erin Brockovich had Edward Louis Masry, and the Olympic hockey team had Herb Brooks, who famously told his team, "You're meant to be here. This moment is yours. You're meant to be here at this time."

Great Leaders Build and Leverage Great Communities

The question of what makes a great leader has long been a focus of PFD Group’s coaching and strategic planning services, but it has also become a topic of discussion after the recent release of the Los Angeles Times piece, Is the World’s Richest Person the World’s Worst Boss? 

The article chronicles the leadership style of one individual, who heads some of the world’s most innovative companies. According to the Times piece, this person is known for “the out-of-nowhere firings, the threats and the bluster, the pubescent jocularity, the day-to-day uncertainty and the urgent demands to work through the night.”

This is no way to build a sustainable community. 

Community is a Two-Way Street

Why is community important? Because, among other things, a great community can help leaders learn more about themselves, which can help them build and grow better businesses. The process is cyclical, because as individuals become better leaders, they in turn build better communities. 

Inc. Magazine calls this the “weird, paradoxical part of starting a community.” The article, entitled 10 Ways Great Leaders Build Amazing Communities, says you're building a community “to solve a problem in your own career or life, but to get members, you need to be concerned first with their needs, not yours. A great leader focuses on helping other people solve their problems and achieve their goals. Otherwise, why will people follow you?”

Changing the World

Importantly, great communities have the power to change the world. This power to change the world through great communities is something we emphasize on a regular basis, but the sentiment is spotlighted and put into action at our annual 2022 Stewardship Summit in Alaska.” 

Before summit attendees land in Alaska, we spend significant time meeting with caterers and event planners to build a production team that aligns with our core values. We regularly recommend our clients utilize creativity in their own business building, so it is imperative to us that the people we work with to support our events are instilled with the same passion for creativity that we recommend for others. 

Leadership Styles Matter

When it comes to building great communities, the best leaders understand that leadership is about backing up your words with actions. 

“A leader’s words matter, but actions ultimately do more to reinforce or undermine the implementation of a team of teams. Instead of exploiting technology to monitor employee performance at levels that would have warmed Frederick Taylor’s heart, the leader must allow team members to monitor him. More than directing, leaders must exhibit personal transparency. This is the new ideal.”

― Stanley McChrystal, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

Obviously, there are many leaders exemplifying greatness, but for this article, we’d like to offer the antidote to the Times’ “world’s worst boss.” 

That is Kenneth Morris, a U.S. Navy Veteran and Executive Director of the Aviation Community Foundation (ACF). At the foundation, Kenneth helps build a quality talent pipeline for the aviation industry by assisting high school graduates in finding internships, jobs, mentors, and other industry contacts. (Note: PFD Group’s CEO Ethan Martin is the founder and serves in an advisory capacity to ACF.) 

Kenneth and Ethan.

In 2020, Kenneth was selected by the Department of Transportation as one of 11 U.S. military veterans in Texas (and the only African American) to fly in the Forces to Flyers initiative, which prepared him to become the first commercial pilot in his family’s history.

Want to see Kenneth achieve true weightlessness? Check out this YouTube video of his flight with the Blue Angels, as part of their key influencer program. 

If you’re looking to build your own great community, we would love to talk with you about your why and your vision for your company. For more information on our strategic business coaching services, please contact us to schedule a call. 

Biggest Hiring Mistakes of 2022

Motivational leader Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, is famously known for his analogy comparing business to a bus. 

“First,” writes Collins, “if you begin with the ‘who’ rather than the ‘what,’ you can more easily adapt to a changing world. The people you want on the bus are the ones who roll with the proverbial rock slides. The ones who say, “Hey, I got on this bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me.” 

In 2022, as the business world adapted to a post-Covid world era, it seems that leaders continue to be flummoxed by the principles of getting the right people in the right seats. 

What exactly were some of the biggest hiring mistakes of 2022? 

Not Hiring the Right People

The estimated cost of a mishire can be 5 to 27 times the amount of the employee’s salary according to Topgrading.com. Which means a mishire can be extremely costly to a business. 

A major mistake we saw during 2022 was businesses hiring the wrong people-especially in sales leadership positions. Having the right people doing the right job is a sure fire way to keep your business on track, even during difficult times. When you hire, you need to hire the best person for the position, constrained only by your budget. 

To reduce the possibility of a mishire, we recommend following a rigorous process like the 12-step that Topgrading offers, which will help ensure the right fit and benefit not only you but your potential hires as well.

Holding On to the Wrong People Too Long

Keeping the wrong people on your payroll too long was another common mistake during 2022. 

If you find yourself questioning whether or not a person is the right fit for your business, then you need to listen to that inner voice and start asking yourself some hard questions.

There are at least two ways employees can be “wrong” for your business. Either they are a wrong fit for the role they are currently serving in, or they are a wrong fit for your corporate culture. 

In a previous article, The Ethics of Hiring Well, we detailed the importance of hiring people to match your organization's Core Values. If the employee is fulfilling a role that doesn’t fit their skill set, is there a possibility of shifting them to a different role? On the other hand, if the employee doesn’t exemplify your core values, the cost of keeping them will far outweigh any cost of letting them go.

Not Using 2022 to Set the Foundation for Growth

In a very short time frame, customers have shifted their purchase habits, possibly more dramatically than at any other time in history. Do you have an employee or a team tracking those shifting sentiments? Are you using their learnings from the last year to adapt? 

Read more: Who Should Attend Your Annual Strategic Planning Meeting? — PFD Group

Every business should plan for experimentation but in a way that mitigates risk. Otherwise, you might get caught in cuts.

Look at how changes in the market have impacted your core customers. What new needs do they have? How can you better serve them in a way that drives more growth for your business? 

Despite the challenges, today’s business landscape offers so many new opportunities for agile companies.

Need help planning ahead to mitigate risks for 2023? The PFD Group can help. We’d love to support you and your senior team. Contact us and we’d be happy to schedule a call to discuss your strategic vision.

A Month of Gratitude and Service

After a very hot summer, we are finally starting to feel a chill in the air and see the leaves start to change color. Although the coming holiday season is often associated with merriment and abundance, this time of year can also be a time of anxiety and stress. 

Fortunately, there is a fairly common cure to many of these pressures–the practice of gratitude. 

“In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

–Harvard Health

Gratitude and Service are Keys to Happiness

For us at PFD Group, gratitude isn’t just a seasonal theme. It is something we emphasize all year long. This is founded upon our own gratitude for being able to passionately do what we love–provide value for high-growth companies. 

By helping companies build their own flight plans, we set them on a course that leads them to create more jobs, serve their employees and even build better communities. The more value we create for our clients, the more they can realize growth and economic sustainability.

Related Content: An Attitude of Gratitude: Finding Meaning and Empowerment During Times of Difficulty

We Are Called to Serve Others

Ultimately, our gratitude stems from our ability to serve others. Because service is at the foundation of all our relationships. It is how we show love for our neighbors and our communities. 

Service is a key principle in most faith-based texts and beyond that, it has been proven to be a key factor in living a healthy life. 

“Voluntary giving is one of the fastest and most reliable ways to improve your mood; making it part of your lifestyle can have long-term effects on your life satisfaction.” 

– The Atlantic

Thanksgiving Around the World

Celebrating gratitude is not just an American Ideal. Although Americans may have the most famously known annual Thanksgiving holiday, we aren’t the only country to give thanks in annual celebrations. 

Canada: Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October. Although it is similar to  American Thanksgiving, historians say Canada’s Thanksgiving celebration actually predates the U.S. celebration.

Mexico: Although Mexico does not have a formal Thanksgiving day, it does celebrate Dia de Los Muertos in late October. Loosely, this is a celebration of the ancestors that have come before, including leaving grateful ofrendas (offerings) that honor dearly departed relatives. 

Europe: In Europe, the melting pot of cultures has led to a variety of celebrations that give thanks, many of them tied to the harvest season. Most famously, Germanic-speaking countries celebrate Erntedankfest, although each country and region recognize the holiday on different days with different customs. 

Asia: Asian countries also celebrate giving thanks. Both Korea’s Chuseok and China’s Mid-Autumn festivals celebrate the harvest, while Japan’s Kinro Kansha no Hi’, similar to American Labor Day, gives thanks to Japanese workers for all their annual contributions. 

Africa: In Africa, American-founded Liberia is the only nation to hold a formal Thanksgiving celebration. But other nations, including Ghana, hold the annual Homowo (Yam Festival) which celebrates the harvest and also honors departed family members.