If your office is anything like ours this time of year, you’re being gifted with chocolates and fruit baskets and other goodies from grateful clients and suppliers. And no doubt you are doing the same, sending cards and gifts far and wide to show your appreciation.

It’s a time of year that gives me a deep feeling of gratitude and abundance. It also has me thinking about giving year-round — giving of time, energy and expertise for the benefit of those we lead.

I’ve been musing on what qualities are required of us as leaders when we give. These are the most essential:

In a recent on-site “professional selling kills” workshop, I stressed the importance of relearning to think in questions when you are with existing or potential customer opportunities. In sales, our focus has to be all about asking questions and then actively listening to the responses.

I reminded the workshop participants of how inquisitive we were growing up, and how we were not afraid to ask questions over and over until we were satisfied with the answer. That same mindset is required when we are on a sales call or in a customer service situation. Our main job is to find out the customers’ needs, to tell and talk, and the only way to accomplish that successfully is if we relearn to think in questions.

This past November, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, a more than 7,000 employee hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, joined the Mayo Clinic Care Network as the 10th health care organization to team up with the network.

St. Elizabeth will remain an independent, locally run organization, but as a member of the Mayo Clinic, St. Elizabeth physicians will be able to consult with Mayo specialists regarding a patient’s case through an electronic tool called eConsult. St. Elizabeth CEO John Dubis estimates 1,200 cases could be discussed with the Mayo Clinic in its first year as a member.

Everyone knows the importance of asking for referrals – at least external referrals. That’s when you ask the question, “Who else do you know in your area of influence – be specific – that could benefit in the same ways you have?”

But what we usually forget to ask about is internal referrals. These are opportunities within the same company, but in a different department or location.