CREATIVITY & LEADERSHIP

TERM 6, 2017

Prof. Raj Raghunathan

Assignment 3: Expressing gratitude

Due: December 13th/14th

Length: 3 pages

Points: 15 points

Instructions:

Earlier in this session, I had asked you to think of someone that had a positive influence on your
life. I had also asked you to write a paragraph or two expressing your feelings towards this
person, and why you think he/she had a positive influence on you.
In this assignment, I would like you to flesh out that paragraph in greater detail, so that it is at
least 3-4 paragraphs (about 300 words) long. The longer it is (up to about 700 words), the
better.
Then do the following. Let this personthe one that had a positive influence on youknow
what you think and feel about him/her. You can do this by in one of the following 3 ways:
a. Meeting him/her face to face and reading out the letter
b. Calling him/her (on the phone or on Skype) to read your note
c. Emailing your note to him/her
If this person is not available or has passed on, you should read your note someone who knows
this person. For example if you are expressing gratitude to a grandparent or aunt who has
passed on, you could read your note to your mother or father. Likewise, if a teacher you wish to
thank has passed on, you could read you note to another student who knew this teacher. If you
cant read the note face-to-face, you can do it over phone or over email.
If you choose the first option (reading the note face to face) or the second (phone/skype), you
will obviously be able to register the recipients emotions, which are important to note (see
below). If you choose the third option (email), wait until you get a response from the recipient
before completing the next steps.
In any of the three options, if you are unable reach the person in two or more attempts, try
another approach. For example, if you are unable to reach him/her face-to-face, try phone or
email.
After you have conveyed your note to the recipient and have received feedback from him/her,
make a note of how you felt at various stages of this project.
The final report should answer the following three questions:
1. Who was the person who had a positive influence on you (name, relation to you)? How
did this person have a positive influence on you? (E.g., if it was a teacher, what role did
he/she play in your life? How have you benefited from this influence?)
2. What did you convey to him/her? (Reproduce your note; if you feel awkward doing so,
please let us know. Rest assured that your note wont be read by anyone else other than
the AA and the professor.)
3. How and what did you feel when:
i. Writing the note? (List all experienced emotions.)
ii. When you conveyed the information to the recipient? (e.g., How did you feel when
you emailed the note or when you read it?)
iii. When waiting for the response from the recipient?
iv. After seeing how the recipient reacted? Were your feelings influenced by the
recipients feelings and, if so, how?
v. And finally, during the whole exercise? Did your experience confirm the findings from
the gratitude research (namely, that expressing gratitude increases happiness?)

You will be graded as follows:

1. Quality of the letter that you wrote: was it heartfelt, genuine, and authentic? 4 points
2. Structuring the report in accordance with the three steps listed above 5 points
3. Quality of analysis in the report (e.g., analysis of whether and why doing the exercise
made you feel happy) 6 points

Important note: Some of you may feel awkward writing a thank you note to the person who
had a positive influence on you. If so, choose someone towards whom you dont feel as
awkward expressing your gratitudee.g., a friend or a cousin. You can also trying making your
note funny, rather than sentimental, to diffuse the awkwardness.

Good luck with this exercise. If you have any questions, contact Raj at:
snigdha_vudatha@isb.edu or subha_minz@isb.edu