I had to read an article with the title of “5 Foolproof Steps to Happier Employees” because rarely is anything “foolproof.” But while reading it, there it was, the universal mis-belief… “Don’t ask about things you can’t or won’t change.” I’m not on board with the ‘don’t ask’ part, as ignorance in business is not bliss. And honestly, everyone is usually aware of those types of issues. Ignoring them fuels the fire. However, I am 100% all about not pretending to be able to change something you know you can not change. This requires active listening, honesty and the foresight to have a legitimate explanation on the ‘why’.
Leadership Is Not Generic
The words ‘leader’ and ‘leadership’ get tossed around like there is no tomorrow. They have become generic, which is a disservice to the further development of leaders. That is one reason I am over the moon about The Harvard Business Review‘s post on the archetypes of leaders. It is worth a read if you are serious about moving your organization in the right direction… http://tinyurl.com/kn4v2co
What Management Model Are You Using?
So often we take time to set goals, plan, develop missions, etc. However, we often overlook a major component. The ‘how’ of implementation. Regardless of the size of your business/organization, participative approaches to management are important to consider.Are you evaluating how each/your participative management approach(s) works? Do you annually or better yet quarterly consider its particular output, strengths, costs and potential tweaks. Are you utilizing one of the stronger participative approaches, “high-involvement management” involving employees financially and psychologically? Or maybe modeling a more integrative management approaches to involve people at all levels of an organization? Whether you are using participative management or another type of management, the important factors to remember are the approach you use is directly linked to your productivity, or lack thereof, and cost/cost savings. Given that, it is worth evaluating your tools regularly.
Whatever It Is It Is Relevant If It Is Yours
Maybe your dream is more engaged/productive employees (see https://thehappypath.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/13-of-employees-worldwide-are-engaged/ for some fairly dismal statistics). Maybe it is to increase productivity while decreasing costs. Maybe it is a stronger management team, or even to move up or possibly out of the company/organization you are in. Whatever your dream goals are right now they are relevant. They are relevant to you, even if they are not relevant to anyone else. The bridge is in communicating the metrics and importance, as well as the pay off. Whether you need to communicate it to yourself or others to make it happen is another blog post altogether.
13% Of Employees Worldwide Are Engaged
You’ve already done the math in your head that tells you 87% of employees worldwide are not engaged. For the stats you can visit http://www.gallup.com/poll/165269/worldwide-employees-engaged-work.aspx . We can talk until we are blue in the face about why this dynamic exists. But I strongly believe it is rooted in a few basic ‘truths’. One, change is hard. Two, we are often living urgency addicted lives that tell us if we believe, visualize, etc. things will happen. Both of those ‘truths’ are correct. However, there is an additional component that needs to be added into the mix and it is ‘work’. You have to do the work. Sometimes it is hard work, uncomfortable, it might leave you standing alone or standing among people you are unfamiliar with and/or it may upset those who are accustomed to your current so-called ‘life’. What it boils down to is this… Employers will have unproductive, or less than ideal workforces and employees will have jobs they are not engaged in until someone pulls the accountability card for something more than just productivity/dollars. We are settling for less than we could have, as individuals, organizations and corporations because the bar seems respectable regarding outcomes. The reality is if you implement an engagement plan you could be seeing an altogether new, much higher, metric of what success really can look like increasing all your positive assets including productivity, dollars and engagement.
Draw The Line
I’ve always tried to live being so busy improving myself that I have no time to criticize others. A practice I highly recommend. Even so, while I can do my best to control my thoughts and verbal output, I can’t control others. Along those lines I share the following which I believe to be quintessential advice to anyone no matter what you are doing and/or where you are in life. Enjoy! “Avoid head trash. Don’t be a garbage can for anything that does not feed your intellect, stimulate your imagination, or make you a more compassionate peaceful person. Refuse to open your mind to other people’s trash.” ~ Les Brown
Ask vs Tell
Asking vs Telling… Which do you believe will receive the more cooperative response? When you ask you are pulling knowledge from another. When you tell you are pushing knowledge at another. So again, take a wild guess on which creates the better dynamic, especially if you are trying to work with others and build relationships. And here is one last helpful hint if you haven’t landed the answer… When was the last time you thought it would be awesome to have some shove their knowledge in your face?
Because No One Is Perfect
You are not perfect, but you are in good company as no one is. Trying to project perfection in an imperfect world is a fool’s errand. It will exhaust you and confuse others. People benefit from being able to relate and/or learn from your challenges. You make yourself more accessible to others empowering their growth by being authentic rather than projecting false perfection. You are not perfect. And that is what makes you great!
In The Flow
The phrase “go with the flow” is so over used it is useless. But the meaning is still relevant. How often do you find yourself ‘forcing’ behavior rather than just being who your are? We all do it on some scale. The question is why do we do it? Some of it may be based in imposter syndrome. Dr. Joan Harvey wrote a book back in the mid 1980s about imposter syndrome. I believe she estimated 70% of people have some experience with it. Dr. Kate Clancy wrote and interesting article about it in Scientific America this past August with a brilliant point that is most relevant, “privileges perceived legitimacy from attitude and pedigree over actual ability.” I feel that translates outside of the field of science as well. We don’t feel we have the legitimacy we need to be who we want. Ironically what provides us credibility are our actions and our results, which are less likely to come to light if we fear we may not be ‘qualified.’ Unless you are in a field that requires accreditation to practice, such as medical or legal, who is to say who is qualified and who is not? What this all comes down to is in the majority of circumstances we are the ones limiting ourselves, no one else. The opportunity in knowing this is choosing not to do so anymore.