When someone asks your employees what they do for a living, how do they respond? With excitement and enthusiasm or with defeat and disillusionment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too many employees and too many workplaces fall into the\nsecond category. But it doesn\u2019t have to be that way, if you apply the 8 secrets\nfound in every positive, high performing organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you well know, one bad apple can spoil the whole cart.\nBut you also know it can be very difficult to get rid of a bad apple or bad\nemployee. So approach every hiring\ndecision with the utmost discernment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In particular, focus your energy on recruiting and retaining\npeople who are technically skilled<\/em> and emotionally competent<\/em>. In\nfact, they had better have both characteristics or you will have a sick\nworkplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you’re in the position of having to hire someone, look\nfor ANY signals that tell you the new job candidate may be a drag on the\npositive culture you’re trying to create. You cannot afford to hire those kinds\nof people … because they will cost you money, rather than make you money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, I\u2019m sure you can think of several situations where\nyou walked into a store to buy something, totally ready to spend your money\nthere, but some employee\u2019s behavior was so offensive that you walked out. And\ninstead, you spent your money at a competitor\u2019s place of business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hire right. And for\nheaven\u2019s sake, if the people you hire don\u2019t have all the people skills they\nneed, then train them right \u2026 right now. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your organization has established certain norms of\nrespectful behavior, reinforce those norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If, for example, employees are expected to acknowledge every\ncustomer within 10 seconds of entering the store, make sure they do it. Or if\nyou have outlawed negative talk about customers, call someone on his violation\nof the norm if he is trashing a customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t let your negative people dismiss your positive\ncultural elements by saying, “That\u2019s just plain stupid<\/em> … or \u2026 That\u2019s\njust the way John is<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though your office, like every office, has some things\nthat could be improved, you’re also doing a lot of things right. Charge\neveryone with the responsibility of looking for those success stories. And then\nshare a few of those stories at every meeting. Celebrate the positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter how positive, productive, and profitable your\norganization is, it is not perfect. There are problems and there will always be\nproblems in your organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t ignore them. And don’t pretend they don’t exist. As\nbest-selling author and psychologist Dr. Sidney Simon says, “The\ngreatest danger in any relationship is to pretend not to know what we\nknow.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, you can’t expect to bury the problems and\nhave them somehow magically disappear. When you bury problems, you bury them alive,\nand the rate of resurrection is almost 100%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, create a forum where people can safely share their\nconcerns. Take their feelings seriously. Listen intently. And decide on one or\ntwo things that can be done to address their concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have everyone write down the specific tasks or job\nsituations that drain them. Some people\nmay not feel supported by the boss, and others may feel betrayed by a team mate\nwho is not doing her share of the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then brainstorm small immediate steps that can be taken to\nmaintain or recapture the energy at work. And then baby-step it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start with a simple issue … where an easy victory is\nlikely … such as greeting one another respectfully and professionally when\npassing one another, rather than ignore the people around you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you’ve built some confidence and skill in one area,\nmove on to a more challenging issue — such as having to do ten projects at\nonce, with no sense of their priority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever the situation at work, you\u2019ve only got two choices:\nto produce results or make excuses. Make\nit clear that it is everyone\u2019s responsibility to bring the right attitude and\nthe right amount of energy to every task. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if your workplace is somewhat de-energizing, everyone there can still choose to focus on the good, to fill their minds with positive, powerful sayings that will inspire them. It\u2019s not silly. Every gold-medal winner in the Olympics does it every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the age of 7, Dr. Alan Zimmerman was selling greeting cards door-to-door. By age 14 he owned a small international import business. By age 21 he was teaching at the University of Minnesota, and during the next 15 years, he was selected as the Outstanding Faculty Member by two different universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At age 36, Alan had retired from teaching and opened his own speaking and training company. That position has allowed him to deliver more than 3000 programs, to more than a million people, in 49 states and 22 countries. The National Speakers Association has named him a Certified Speaking Professional and inducted him into the Speaker Hall of Fame, which places him in the top 1% of speakers worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Protect your positive norms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Discover and share success stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Surface and defuse negativity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Conquer one energy-zapping issue at a time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Assign energy as a personal responsibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
About the author, Dr. Alan Zimmerman<\/h4>\n\n\n\n