Everyone should be what they want and need to be...

Engagement is a popular management term and goal. Be careful it doesn’t turn into a buzzword.

 

An engaged employee feels passionate and motivated about their work. 

Engagement measures an employee's commitment to their job and the organization.

 

We often think of engagement in life or in the workplace as an activity, something to get involved with and in – as in active involvement. But we should be careful about mistaking quiet and/or thoughtful people as being less engaged. Good leaders know their employees and understand how they act and what they think. That’s why good communicators are also excellent observers and listeners. And why emotional intelligence stresses awareness. Good employees don’t always have to be doing something – they can just be, and that’s plenty. We’ve all had quiet employees who shine in their own way – listening, analyzing, contributing, and being passionate and committed. Not everyone sits in the front row and raises their hand all the time. That’s why good supervisors – like good teachers, make sure they ask the quiet employees (and students) what they think, give them other avenues in which to get and feel included and engaged, and make certain they never feel left out. We’ve all gone through periods of shyness and uncertainty and benefited when others have reached out. By giving everyone the appropriate space and attention, we’ll get the best out of each one today.

 

Alice Walker (born 1944): American novelist, short story writer, poet, social activist, and the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (The Color Purple).

Set your course...

Having a direction – in life and work, is an important part of being fulfilled and content. 

 

di·rec·tion

noun

1. a course along which someone or something moves.

"…she set off in the opposite direction"

2. the management or guidance of someone or something.

"…under his direction, the college has developed an international reputation"

 

With the advent of GPS, we’ve all grown far more proficient at following a course along which we move. Think how much clearer the management or guidance of employees would be if there were a GPS equivalent at work. Interestingly, objectives and goals are a close approximation of a workplace GPS. When leaders meet with employees to discuss and decide upon objectives, it creates an excellent roadmap for them to follow. Imagine how much easier it would be to focus on what’s expected rather than to subjectively review how an employee performed his or her tasks. For an employee and his or her supervisor to agree on what’s expected, and by when, is an idea that many companies are adopting. Because work takes on new meaning when people feel they are pointed in the right direction. Stop trying to micromanage how trained employees perform their tasks and pivot to coaching them to achieve their goals. Become a results-focused leader today.

 

Timothy Donald Cook (1960): American business executive who has been the chief executive officer of Apple Inc. since 2011.

Look at all the possibilities...

How you view your job is often how you see yourself. A large part of our self-esteem is wrapped up in our jobs.

 

When meeting someone new, people often exchange business cards.

But there’s much more to someone than their job title.

 

Work can be a job or a career – it’s all in how you look at it.  A job can be a means to an end – short term to pay bills or while waiting for something else. Recruiters hope for more permanence and should develop strategies to convince someone to consider making a longer-term commitment. That’s because regardless of someone’s short-term needs, helping them develop a pathway to a more fulfilling and rewarding career can be in everyone’s best interest. This kind of conversation should start in their initial interview and continue throughout their time with your company. Showing a genuine interest in an employee helps build long-term perspectives, actively coaching them helps build long-term relationships, and ensuring they get engaged with other activities and employees helps cement those relationships. And all this affects how they see the possibilities of turning their job into a career. Helping others see more of what they’re looking at is the sign of a good friend and a great supervisor. Help others see all of their possibilities today.

 

Rasheed Ogunlaru (born 1970): United Kingdom born Life Coach, Speaker, and Author.

Take charge of your todays and tomorrows...

How you begin your day sets the stage for the rest of your day. Start it purposefully. 

 

Whether starting a day, a meeting, or a project, it’s best to have a plan.

To do otherwise is to waste your time and other’s good will.

 

Every religion starts each day with prayers – focusing on values and thoughts to live by. We had a 90-something year old neighbor who drove to church every morning, as she had all her life. I was speaking with a friend recently who showed me his basement workout room where he combines exercise and thoughtful meditation at the start of every day. I can remember as a young child listening to a prayer and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before every school day. And for the past 15 years I have begun every day writing these messages to focus myself (and hopefully others) on the values we should consider living and working by. These are examples of infusing one’s life with action, not happenstance. We’re each responsible for making things happen to help shape our future. As I write these messages, I reflect on my strengths and weaknesses, hoping to be a little better today than I was yesterday. Don’t wait for things to happen – make them happen today.  

 

Bradley Whitford (born 1959): American actor and producer best known for his role in the NBC television political drama The West Wing (1999-2006).

View every glass as half full...

Lots of people have illnesses, injuries, or circumstances that can change and limit their lives. I know, I was one of them.

 

When life happens, you must make the best of what you face. 

Otherwise, the illness or accident wins, and you lose.

 

After my injury, I laid around feeling sorry for myself for two years. During one of my hospital stays, I was in a room with someone who had similar injuries as mine, and he’d basically given up – he was overweight and facing the amputation of his remaining leg. I asked my doctor why, in all my misery, I had to share a room with this individual. With a straight face the doctor said: “because I wanted you to see what might happen if you continue lying around feeling sorry for yourself”. That shocked and depressed me, but the impact of that statement helped shake me out of my depression and lethargy. I learned that whatever happens in life, with a positive and optimistic attitude, anything’s possible. After that, I recuperated as much as possible and started seeing the glass of my life as half full rather than half empty. No matter what ails, scares, or depresses you, focus on what you have rather than what you might not have. And accept and work with that. You control your ability to do that! And when you do, that positive attitude and gratefulness rubs off on everyone around you. Be the optimist whose light shines on other’s paths today.

 

Christopher Reeve (1952 – 2004): American actor, film director, author, and activist, best known for playing the title character in several Superman films. He suffered an accident while riding a horse and became paralyzed from the shoulders down. Despite that, he continued to act and direct and became an advocate for the power of positive thinking.  

Make the most of today...

Every day is as we make it, by the things we control. Like our actions and our attitudes. 

 

It’s just as easy to be positive as it is to be negative.

Find a way to be positive at the start of every day.

 

I once knew person who walked the same route when arriving at work each day. The shortest route. Not the one that passed by many employees. Then spent most of each morning getting things done, in the office. Lunch with a few colleagues. Then spent time walking around to see how things were doing. By that time everyone was into whatever the day had become. Just think if that same person had spent time on the way in to say hi to as many employees as possible, smiling, chit chatting, and spreading greatful and optimistic thoughts. Then went to their office. The first leaves the day to chance; the second has a high potential for affecting the quality of the day. That’s a higher purpose. We all have work time; the challenge is using some of that time to spread the attitude you want your culture to reflect. You can do that. Make time to affect the quality of the day today.

 

Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862): American naturalist, author (Walden), essayist (Civil Disobedience), poet, philosopher, and a leading transcendentalist.

Do training right...

Managers expect things to get done. Thus, a manager’s role is to make sure their subordinates are effective in getting things done.

 

·      It’s cool for someone to get something done.

·      In organizations, it’s also cool for people 

·      To work together to get things done.

 

A best practice at successful companies is training new hires how to effectively do their jobs – by trainers who are trained how to train and who temporarily stop doing their own jobs so they can focus entirely on the training of new employees. And then using buddies to explain things while the new hires are ‘on-the-floor’. The key is training them before they start doing the job – in a quiet setting where questions and practice can occur. Then the buddies become coaches. Don’t expect new employees to learn on their own – by doing training right, training gets done. And if you then want new hires to understand all the intricacies of the job, have the buddies show them how they should interact effectively with employees in those other departments related to their work. Don’t leave training to chance – customer service, quality, and productivity suffer when formal new hire training isn’t done right. Be responsible to train your new employees the right way today.

 

Ray Bradbury (1920 – 2012): American author and screenwriter of works including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.