Come To Work Stupid
On June 13, 2010 in Thought for the Day
I was listening to a Change Nation, an audio interview with host Ariane de BonVoisin of First 30 Days fame. She had as her guest, Polly LaBarre, author of the book,Mavericks at Work; Why The Most Original Minds In Business Win.
Her entire interview (a podcast on ITunes) is great. But the reason to mention it is because she said something that resonated with me – “come to work stupid.”
Now, that doesn’t mean be ill-prepared or come to work without focus. Rather it means come to work without thinking you know (or must know) all the answers. Come to work or to a meeting with an open mind, ready to hear what others think, believe, feel – then build your response. This creates opportunity thinking. This creates the ability to constantly reinvent yourself and your value. This creates the ability to focus on greatness and to allow others to contribute their best.
The reason why this resonates so strongly with me is that I believe each of us have very particular talents and strengths. And a large part of our ability to be great (at home and at work) is based on our ability to know ourselves – to know our talents, passions and strengths – and to direct our lives and work around these strengths.
Mavericks (innovators) know that if they allow others to play to their greatest areas, they will think differently – more dynamically, more originally and more openly. And that our results are based on our ability to inspire maverick and innovative thinking in all our people. Collective genuis. None of us are as smart as all of us.
So back to the theme – “come to work stupid.”
Come to work expecting to learn.
Come to work expecting to invent and go where the discussion pulls you.
Come to work ready to hear what others believe, consider, are passionate about, are great at doing, know and value.
Come to work allowing others to step up – that you don’t have to have all the answers.
Come to work encouraging others to respond in a significant way.
Come to work expecting great things will happen each day because you have assembled a team of talented and passionate employees, committed to your compelling vision and purpose.
Sometimes we feel we have to have all the answers. Most times we need to be the facilitator of the event that allows the answers to come forward.
Core to the maverick or original-thinking mindset is having a team of talented employees and a culture of openness, communication and a focus on greatness. How well does your organization do with this?
It is important to come to work stupid (open, non-judgmental, approachable, sincere, interest, passionate, open-minded), but go home wise.
For more information, please go to www.LiveFiredUp.com.
Do More of Some Things and Less of Others
On June 03, 2010 in Thought for the Day
Life is all about choice – we choose to do some things and not others. We have the choice to tread lightly in some situations and not in others. Here is what I mean.
In the living well magazine of my local supermarket was an article about a twelve-year old who worked with her family to limit their trash output to one bag a week. She educated her entire family about what can be recycled, required reusable containers and bags, and insisted on a commitment to reduce the amount of “stuff” the family has. Tread lightly on the planet.
An author friend of mine blogged this week about an elderly man who had fallen on the street, and though a crowd gather around him, no one bothered to help him stand. My friend came through the crowd and helped the man stand, made sure he was fine, then moved along on his way. Don’t tread lightly when it comes to helping others.
My neighbors in Florida funnel the rainwater from their roof into cisterns and barrels, and use this water to irrigate their plants and gardens. They comply with the water restrictions and are careful about how much water they use and when they use it. They respect this resource. Tread lightly with our natural resources.
I was in a Starbucks last week and watched a kid, excited about ordering his own beverage (the parent was in the car), realize to his horror that he did not have enough money with him. The person in line covered his shortfall and the kid’s smile returned in an exceptional way. Don’t tread lightly with kindness.
It is our choice to respond – to tread lightly when it comes to our planet, our resources and our world – and to not tread lightly when it comes to kindness, generosity, help and support.
– What three ways will you tread lightly on the planet – and how will you share your ideas with others to do the same?
– What three ways will you not tread lightly (be bold) in your service and kindness to others – and how will you share your ideas with others to do the same?
Each of us makes an impact – is it the right impact? Do more of some things; do less of others. Own your impact and share what you know.
Please pass this on to someone who can benefit from it and contact me for help or inspiration. For more information go to www.LiveFiredUp.com.
Reinvent Your (Work) Self
On June 02, 2010 in Thought for the Day
In today’s changing workplace, finding one job may be a thing of the past. Instead, what do you do very well and could do for several employers? How can you reinvent your (work) self.
The greatest innovation in our economy comes from small businesses or individuals who bring their ideas for greatness to the world. In today’s “hard to get a job” workplace, why not look at what you are great at, innovate and reinvent your work self? Why not focus more on your ideas, talents and passions than on existing jobs – and invent a new and better role for yourself?
Challenge your thinking that a job is in one place, is for one employer, has a fixed work week, and has a specific title. Does that make you uncomfortable? Of course – all change does.But as things change, holding on to the past doesn’t help you become successful today.
How to reinvent your work self:
1. Identify what are you good at and what value can you bring to others?
2. Identify what do you love to do and what value can this add for others?
3. How much do you need/want to make each day, week, month?
4. What opportunities do you see that could give you the earnings and allow you to play to what you are good at and passionate about – how can you reinvent your work self?
5. What do you need to investigate to determine how to do it professionally?
My starting recommendation for people working through this transition is to take a talent assessment (you can find mine on this site) and to read the book, Start With Why by Simon Sinek (this week’s featured resource). Knowing your “why” – your purpose – will guide you on this process of self-reinvention.
Additionally, I am starting a new section on my website Reinvent Your (Work) Self, including stringing together many part-time roles into one new one, trying something new, and inventing a new (high-value) role for yourself.
Check back regularly as I develop this with help from many employment experts on www.LiveFiredUp.com and click on “Job Seeker.” Maybe your current difficulty in getting hired will be the incentive for you to reinvent yourself in a bigger and happier way. Know yourself, know your “why” and have the courage to reinvent yourself.
Please share this with someone who can benefit from it and contact me to help you learn how to reinvent your (work) self.
Employees Are More Important Than Customers
On May 31, 2010 in Thought for the Day
As I work with organizations, I generally ask, “Who is more important, employees or customers?”
In most cases, they say “customers.” Customers are the reason for their business; their goal is to satisfy their customers. I disagree.
Okay, this is really a trick question because ultimately organizations must be customer-focused. But the point is that in order to do extraordinary things for your customers, you must have extraordinary employees. So build an employee-focused culture first to create your customer-focus.
Employees who are not engaged, capable and passionate about their work will not connect in a way that will inspire customer loyalty. Loyalty matters, satisfaction does not. Organizations need employees to do extraordinary things to move customers from satisfied to loyal. This comes when employees feel they are valued, important and critical to the success of the business. This is created in the organization’s culture.
No employee-focused workplace, no extraordinary employees. No extraordinary employees, no customer loyalty. No customer loyalty, no great results.
Here are my 10 components of a powerful employee-focused culture (presented in greater detail in my book, Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition):
1. A clear and compelling company vision or purpose.
2. Clearly defined ethical standards.
3. A competent talent-based employee selection process.
4. A dynamic on-boarding process.
5. A fair and attainable reward and incentive process.
6. Fair and recurring performance feedback.
7. Regular skill development.
8. Regular career development.
9. Succession planning and mentoring.
10. An inclusive and diverse work environment.
How you treat your people determines how your people treat your customers. Focus first on employees to ultimately focus on customers. How employee-focused is your workplace culture?
Please forward this to someone who can benefit from it and contact me to help create a powerful employee-focused workplace culture. For more information, please go to www.LiveFiredUp.com.
The Power of Emotional Leadership
On May 30, 2010 in Thought for the Day
There was a time when the great leaders where stoic, analytical and distant. They were able to separate their feelings from what they had to do to stay in control. They were impersonal and non-emotional. This represented strength.
Then the world has changed. Today’s best leaders are those who activate the emotional connection and emotional investment of their people. They don’t do this by remaining distant from their people. They do it by being more human and more emotional with their people.
Regardless what you feel politically about Obama, he models both effective and ineffective leadership qualities. His thinking and analytical approach to the country’s complex issues allows him to successfully manage things at once. However, his even and non-emotional responses portray him as disconnected from the feelings of those affected by challenges such as lost jobs, lost houses and the gulf oil spill.
Today’s workplace needs leaders who share their passion for what they do, and the feelings they have for the people they lead. They must be more connected to both how they think and feel, and be able to be truly present with their emotions. Emotions are not a sign of weakness – they are a sign of humanity. And if today’s managers and leaders want to engage and inspire their employees to perform, then they must be comfortable with their emotions and the emotions of their employees.
I frequently reference the book, Human Sigma, by Dr. Johnn Fleming and Jim Asplund. In this book, the authors (Gallup researchers) present that the primary difference between a satisfied customer and a loyal customer is the emotional connection a customer has to a brand, product or organization. Emotions move customers from satisfied (maybe they come back) to loyal (they always come back).
The same can be said about employees. The greatest employee performance happens when they are emotionally connected to their work through a compelling purpose and an emotional/personal connection to their manager and team.
Accurate, though dispassionate, rhetoric does not inspire; emotional connectedness inspires. Empathy matters. Emotions matter. Maintaining a constant state of evenness confuses employees to what matters and what really matters. Life and work include race and rest, excitement and stability. Leaders create the tone by how they react. The monotone, emotional-less leader inspires the same bland response from his people.
How Obama is handling the response to the BP oil spill is very telling about his leadership style. Though applauded for his ability to be constantly stayed and even, there are indeed times when the emotions – the humanity – are needed to relate to what others are experiencing. Think about Churchill at the time of the bombing of London in the second World War. To activate emotions, you have to show emotions.
Leaders who share their emotions, share their humanity. Employees relate as people. Customers relate as people. Out of control emotions are counter-productive. The lack of emotions is also counter-productive.
Do your employees see you as human and passionate about things that really matter?
Do you openly and responsibly share your feelings and emotions in the workplace?
Do you inspire your employees to be emotionally-invested in their work?
In the industrial age, emotions were perceived as performance inhibiting. In a service and intellectual age, emotions drive innovation, responsiveness and performance. Set the emotional pace for you employees; they will then set the emotional pace for your customers. There are leadership lessons everywhere.
For more information on Firing Up Your Employees, go to www.LiveFiredUp.com.