Have you sung the 5:01 blues lately? Here's how it goes . .
.
4:59, everyone is poised and ready. 5:00, the work day
ends. 5:01, your employees rush out the door-nearly
tripping over each other-to give their time, and energy to
something that REALLY motivates them.
And that's not your business.
You, however, will not be home until well after dinner and
just before the kids are in bed. Only to work some more as
you're watching David Letterman.
Here's what the Gallup Corporation found after interviewing
10 million employees worldwide: • 55% of all employees are
not engaged at all in their work • 16% percent of workers
are actively disengaged • Only 29%, less than one-in-three
employees, were fully engaged at work
In other words, if you have 30 employees, only 9 of them
are really working for you, while 16 of them are cruising
on autopilot and 5 of them are actively working against you!
What's a small business owner to do? You need people to get
the job done, but the people you have don't get the job
done! There's no heart, no intensity, no passion in their
work.
THE SECRET TO A PASSIONATE WORKPLACE
There is a secret, a simple affordable secret. that will
transform you workplace into a true workFORCE. It is the
power of positive praise.
The carrot and the stick have proven to be poor motivators
because they do not move people from within. Positive
input, encouragement, and genuine appreciation, however,
communicate to people their value and worth and motivates
them from the inside out. When provided on a regular basis,
work becomes a place people enjoy coming to instead of just
putting in their time.
"Because of its power, ridiculously low cost and rarity,
praise and recognition is one of the greatest lost
opportunities in the business world today," write Gallup
researchers in 12: The Elements of Great Managing.
In other words, a passionate workplace is a positive
workplace where praise and recognition is given freely.
FOUR KEYS FOR DELIVERING POSTIVE PRAISE
1. Make it TRUE.
Don't' make things up, people resent that. Find things to
praise by changing your focus to catching people doing
things RIGHT rather than wrong. Then tell them how much you
appreciate it.
2. Make it SPECIFIC.
"Good work!" however well meaning and sincere, will fall on
deaf ears. State specifically what it was that made the
work good. Specific praise is powerful praise.
3. Make it PERSONALIZED.
Some people love being praised in public, others hate it.
Some read every note and card they get, other throw them in
the trash. Everyone has a different praise "language." Find
it and use it.
4. Make it CONSISTENT.
Gallup's research discovered that praise and recognition in
the workplace needed to given no less than one time every
seven days. Make it one of your top things to do that gets
checked off every week.
HOW ONE BUSINESS LEADER USED PRAISE TO MOTIVATE HIS PEOPLE
One of my business coaching clients recently shared with me
the story of the greatest day in his professional life. He
had crushed his sales number for the year and earned the
highest award in his division for sales. At an end of the
year banquet, he was brought on stage and cheered by his
peers.
When the applause died down, his manager said, "Everyone
knows this is a very hard job to do and none of us could do
without the support and sacrifice of our spouse."
This brilliant boss had the sales person's wife come on the
platform and she received a standing ovation. To this day
he still chokes up a bit telling the story.
Do you think that salesman had a difficult time being
motivated to work for his boss? No way. In fact, after that
event he would do anything, ANYTHING, for him.
It doesn't cost a thing to thank someone or to praise them
in front of their peers. It costs only pennies to send a
handwritten note and only a few dollars to unexpectedly
give someone a gift card to their favorite restaurant.
Yet in every case these actions have an amazing effect on
people, transforming your workplace into a true workforce.
----------------------------------------------------
Do you own your own business or does it own you? Discover
the difference with The Business Fitness™ System from Bill
Zipp, President of Leadership Link. Bill is a seasoned
small business specialist whose proven program provides a
step-by-step plan for building a strong, self-sustaining
small business. For a FREE Special Report, The 3 Biggest
Killers of Small Businesses Today (And What YOU Can Do
About Them!) visit http://www.LeadershipLink.net .
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