Are you in pursuit of your dreams?

Are you someone that wakes up each day wondering, what if?  What if I haven't made the right decision? What if I'm not going in the right direction?  What if I haven't provided the right guidance to my kids?  The what ifs can mount up and weigh you down to the point that you stagnate, and you cause those around you to shut down as well.  Take a look at this movie clip….

Jon Gordon, in his book "The Energy Bus" referred to those who suck the positive energy out of a room as "Energy Vamps".  Energy Vamps have a hard time of seeing the forest through the trees and are reluctant to see that new directions can be taken and fostered through positive energy.

One of the things that this clip represents to me is that no matter how old you are, never give up on your dreams.  If you are not where you want to be today, are you going to allow others to remain there.  The great thing dreams is that you decide how you get there.  All your present situation allows for is to create a foundation for future growth.  When a person is reluctant to grow, they stagnate.  When they stagnate as a leader, everything around them becomes stagnant and future progress for the organization  is stifled.

As a leader, not just in the workplace, but in your personal and volunteer worlds as well, if you are not willing to be part of the solution.  You have to first make sure that your vision is alignment with the organizations vision and then do everything you can to achieve those goals.

Too frequently, when we see people leave an organization, there are probably clues that they checked out long before their security ceased working.  When that person leaves, they join a new organization with a renewed energy.  Why as leaders do we have a such a hard time harnessing that energy and enthusiasm?  Instead we allow those individuals to just leave.

I challenge others, as I am challenging myself to figure out what their dreams and aspirations are first, and then begin to work with those around you to see where they are?  Have they checked out?  Do they present a sense of hopelessness of future success like Will Smith's character does in the above clip?

This is my first post in almost a month.  I have spent a lot of this past month working on recapturing the energy that has allowed for opportunities to present themselves for me in my career.  There is still much introspective work to be done on my part, but the process has been underway since the beginning of the year.  What I do know, is that you never know who you have had a positive impact on.

"Don't let anyone ever tell you, you can't do something". - Will Smith from the Pursuit of Happiness

The River of Negativity

Recently, I was asked if I could share my views and feelings on how to counter workplace negativity.  It is a topic that hits home for me.  I have had the fortune of working in environments where there have been very strict rules with very prescriptive consequences, as well as environments where there have been very fluid rules.

As I pondered this, it was apparent that I did not have a magic formula that has led to a lack of negativity in my current environment. I did realize the following though:

• Change breeds negative thoughts
• Negativity without a proper outlet festers and becomes a culture
• Culture determines employee engagement and ultimate satisfaction
• Employee engagement and satisfaction contributes to customer satisfaction
• Customer satisfaction is synonymous with the customer experience
• Customers typically will not speak highly of products and services that they have a negative experience with
• Organizations lose customers as a result of negative customer experiences

How can negativity in the workplace be combated?   Taking a look at the above simplistic negativity flow, it is easiest to combat negativity before it even is allowed to manifest itself.  As a leader, you have to take negativity out at its knees.  Here are some strategies that have worked.

• Ensure that change is communicated in a timely manner.
• Encourage staff to ask questions and follow-up on their concerns.
• Engage staff where they are, not where you think they are
• Inspect what you expect, but don't micro-manage
• Allow for midstream adjustments as not all changes or decisions deploy as envisioned
• Don't hide from decisions.  Be visible and approachable
• Provide status updates as to how change is progressing, even acknowledging learning opportunities
• Recognize staff whenever possible
• Celebrate milestones and accomplishments, no matter how small

Much of what is mentioned above are things you see talked about in books, articles, training classes, etc.  I can attest from experience that the first list can become your reality, if you don't adopt items from the second list.

What changes do you have planned?  Hopefully this post provides some nuggets to assist you successfully avoid workplace negativity by eliminating it before it has a chance to take hold. If it exists in your environment today, know that the course of negativity can be reversed through focusing on items in the second list, primarily through being visible, approachable, communicating, and taking the time to recognize positive outcomes, no matter how small.  Most importantly, have fun!

Have a great week!