January 2010

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine received a promotion to what she described as “a position” that required her to “lead a team of paraprofessionals.”

While excited about the opportunities in front of her, there was, nevertheless, a bit of hesitancy in her voice the other day as she described the expectations and challenges that she was experiencing as a “first-time leader.”

“First-time leader?” I asked. Clearly, she must have been speaking of someone else!

First-time manager, maybe… but this girl’s been leading, she’s been influencing, and she’s been creating an environment in which others can thrive in her department, in her church, in her family, and in her causes… and she’s been doing all of those things for a very long time.

So, Julie… and any other Julies or Davids or Marys…

Don’t let the title fool you; you have way too much potential for that! And now I’ll keep this article short and leave you with another story from a few months ago on a similar topic… enjoy!

I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Photo Credit:

Susan M. Carter

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Okay, so here we are less than two weeks into the new year, and already millions of people have given up all hope to achieve the goals and resolutions that they set for 2010.

Maybe you know a few of them.

Now, let’s be really real, shall we… because I’ve been in that position more times than I care to admit.

So what are the top resolutions? What are the common denominators, and what makes them so difficult to achieve?

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Here are some of the more popular undertakings that your friends, neighbors, relatives, and coworkers targeted for achievement this year:

Lose Weight
Stop Smoking
Quit Drinking
Eliminate Some Other Bad Habit
Get Out Of Debt

Interestingly enough, many identified the same desires a year ago, and… the year before that. In fact, these are among the top resolutions every year.

So, therein lies the commonality… there’s a ton of us all wanting to make the same positive changes, and yet, we all seem to be struggling.

Why is that, and what can be done about it? Well… here is my take, and a suggestion to fix it once and for all.

First, understand that each time we try to succeed, and fail… there can be an overwhelming tendency to begin to accept the status quo as the realistic definition of our potential. In short, people lose faith in themselves. They quit trying.

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering… that would not be considered to be a success principle.

Second, when we make these type of resolutions, they are all very focused on ourselves. I want to lose weight… I want to quit this or that… I… I… I… whatever.

And that is likely a big part of the problem.

Self-absorbed goals tend not to be big enough to overcome the storms along the way… because our true happiness and joy in life doesn’t come from having a smaller waistline, one less bad habit, or a few more dollars at the end of the month.

To the contrary, our quality of life comes from the strength of our relationships with other people. And the easiest way to open those doors is to find a way to help and add value to another person’s life.

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So, knowing that millions of others are making and struggling with the same resolutions… if you want to trim a few pounds, dump the bad habits, or whatever… try this.

Find another individual who is looking to do the same thing, and make it your resolution to help them keep theirs. That’s right. Need to lose weight? Partner with someone and become their rock. Want to trash the cigarettes? Same deal. Need funds? You can start a small business online for next to nothing and split the profits!

Easy stuff.

And if I know anything about this (which I do), I am betting that putting your eyes on the success of another will give your efforts the significance required to keep your goals on track as well.

This year, why not resolve to make someone else’s resolutions come true? And then tell us all about it! I look forward to hearing from you.

Photo Credit:

brtsergio

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Sometimes it just comes over me. And when it does, I know what I need. Music… any music! Yes, forty minutes ago, was one of those times.

And with that, I turned on a revolving CD Player in our living room that’s stacked with, oh…I don’t know… a whole stack of CD’s!

It’s kind of like gambling, ’cause you really have no idea what might come up first… however, I usually roll with whatever it is!

So tonight, for my listening pleasure, I got… Christmas music.

Ah, the memories. It seems like just yesterday, we were singing hard rock versions of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and suddenly it’s the twelfth day of January!

Time flies.

But here’s how my mind works… here’s what I’m thinking about right now. I’m pondering a conversation I had with someone this morning who was noticeably frustrated about already having blown off their number one and number two New Years Resolutions.

Here we are, not quite two weeks into the year, and according to them… it’s gone. No use in trying… over.

Hmm.

I suggested they were in good company, or at least in popular company, seeing that half of those who made resolutions this year are in the same boat.

And then I asked a few questions…

What resolutions were made?
Answer: Quit smoking… lose weight.
What resolutions were made last year?
Answer: Quit smoking… lose weight.

Methinks there’s a pattern developing here… several of them, really. And we’re going to look at those more closely… tomorrow.

Until then, I hope you are having a terrific new year!!

Photo Credit:

John A Ward

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Okay… quick recap from yesterday.

No, I’m not referring to the weather report I gave, or the coffee menu for that matter…

I’m speaking about the survey conducted by Harvard Business Review that asked 600 execs to rate the number one motivating factor in the work-life of their employees.

Here again is my recollection of the choices that they were given:

* Financial Incentives and Benefits
* Social Interaction and Interpersonal Support
* Recognition for Their Achievements
* Progress in Reaching Objectives
* Formulation and Communication of Clear Goals

Now, I suppose if we went back thirty or forty years, that same set of questions would have invariably elicited a majority response about pay and benefits… though to be truthful, thirty or forty years ago we probably didn’t have “Interpersonal Support” or “Communication” issues on the list… did we?

In any event, back to today.

And the winner, according to 600 top corporate managers is… Recognition.

Just one problem… it seems they all forgot to ask the employees.

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Yes, this study which included hundreds of workers who kept detailed journals and in which they emailed their entries to researchers every day for several years, wanted…

Progress.

That’s it… simple progress toward their goals.

It seems, believe it or not, that our people don’t like roadblocks… don’t relish wasting their time… and don’t enjoy spinning their wheels any more than we do.

Imagine that.

Oh, BTW… the article goes on to say that the variable that managers rated dead-last was… yup, you nailed it. The very thing that the vast majority of employees said was the most important characteristic when it comes to happiness and motivation in their careers.

But then again, Abraham Maslow could have told them that decades ago.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Questions:

Are there any areas within your company in which sufficient progress is not being made toward the stated goals and the expectations of your team?

What are three concrete steps that you can take this month to significantly move the dial?

What resources do you need? Are you prepared to pull that together? Will you?

Photo Credit:

E-Strategy Blog

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Time: 9:48pm CST
Date: Last Evening

Mood: Positively Excited
Location: 44.262512,-88.478597

Temperature: Start at freezing…
then subtract 37 Degrees, Fahrenheit.

Yeah… I know, it’s nuts.

Though I suppose after awhile you do kinda get used to it… you know, like the story of the frog that is boiling… only in this case, the frog is freezing its buns off!

But alas, I digress.

Anyway, as I traveled I thought about savoring a voluminous Cafe Americano over the latest issue of Harvard Business Review, and how that would likely benefit me in more ways than one… so I stopped to enjoy the atmosphere of a favorite bookstore thirty minutes from home.

As I placed my order and picked up the publication… my mind still dwelt on a phone conversation I had finished just minutes earlier. You know, stuff like proper goal setting, effective motivation, and our role as leaders in moving the dial forward for our organizations and… more importantly, for our people.

Taking a chair by the fireplace, I opened at random to an article about… this was so cool… motivating employees!!

Imagine that.

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Thirty years ago, I remember thinking that financial compensation was the prime motivator in business, and no one could have told me any different at the time.

Of course, this likely had much to do with Abraham Maslow, the “Hierarchy of Human Needs”, and the fact that I saw donating plasma as a legitimate part-time job!

Sorry… another digression.

But, at some point… as we fulfill our basic physiological requirements and eliminate our concerns for safety and security… other needs, higher needs… become more important.

Easy stuff.

So… back to the HBR article. They asked six hundred or so executives to identify what is most important to their people… what are their employee’s needs… what one variable is most important in motivating the entire team to win.

Here, in no particular order is my paraphrase of the choices they were given from which to choose… they are, of course, our choices as well.

* Financial Incentives and Benefits
* Social Interaction and Interpersonal Support
* Recognition for Their Achievements
* Progress in Reaching Objectives
* Formulation and Communication of Clear Goals

Go ahead and choose one… and we’ll pick up the discussion again tomorrow. I look forward to hearing from you.

Photo Credit:

Vintage Daydream

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