Do Your Employees [Heart] Their Jobs?
February 15, 2011
Creating Meaningful Work to Inspire Best Performance
Do your employees remember to pack their hearts when they’re packing their lunches? Are they merely going through the motions at work? Feigning “connection to the work” while in reality spending more energy avoiding trouble versus willingly contributing their personal-best?
As the leader or manager, how do you create “meaning” at work?
Do They “Get It?”
Have you heard the story about the custodian in a large federal complex in the suburbs of Houston?
He was going about his duties one day when a group of “suits” entered the building where he was working. One of the executives asked the custodian, “So what do you do here?” The worker smiled and replied genuinely, “I help put a man on the moon.”
The VIPs were heading into a meeting with NASA officials that day and happened to run into this dedicated gentleman who truly “got it” — he fully understood his role. It wasn’t simply about cleaning toilets and mopping the floors. His work had true meaning. Because he was faithfully on the job every day, he helped create a spotless, VIP-visit-worthy space where other employees and visitors could enter and concentrate on their work at hand… putting a man on the moon.
This gentleman “got it”… Not only about the organizational impact of his role, but the greater effects on a nation and perhaps the world. Without him, dignitaries and decision-makers would be greeted by unsightly workspaces, leaders and workers alike would be distracted by and frazzled by trashy offices and unsupplied restrooms. Not at all what one would expect from the nation’s space agency.
Sometimes we get lucky and hire that golden employee who just gets “it” and lives “it” day in and day out. More often than not, however, employees need reinforcing communication around why their job, indeed why they are important to the purpose of the organization. It’s not so much that we hire duds but that in the course of staying busy, doing our tasks as managers and employees we lose sight of the bigger “why.” It’s that old idea of not seeing the forest for the trees. We get stuck in the weeds and forget why we’re working so hard to create a path through them.
Exemplary Leaders Encourage The Heart
Kousez and Posner’s decades-long research into what inspires employees and creates a “personal-best leadership experience” (that is the experience an employee has with her leaders) offers empirical proof of what it takes to inspire meaningful work. From their The Leadership Challenge, 4th Ed. they point out the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.
Of the Five Practices resulting from Kousez and Posner’s research, this one — Exemplary Leaders Encourage the Heart — in particular speaks to creating meaningful work. To summarize and add my own editorial comments and personal examples…
Genuine acts of caring uplift the spirits and draw people forward. Best leaders want to provide a climate in which people feel cared about and genuinely appreciated by their leaders.
One of my “personal-best leadership experiences” was in the job where I stayed for more than 8 years despite knowing there was something missing (function/strengths misfit… but that’s a topic for another post). It’s true that people leave or remain because of people more so than the work.
One example that will stay with me as long into the future is one of my compassionate Vice President of Marketing who genuinely cared about me and my experience as a new mother seven years ago. It’s tough if not seemingly impossible to put one’s child in the care of others to return to work but we do it. My VP at the time was already a mother of two and understood the gamut of emotions I was having about returning to work. I couldn’t not, from a financial standpoint, but oh boy were those first delicate weeks’ commutes filled with tears. The conversation I remember specifically was her telling me to take as much time as I needed and could afford… that time with a first baby in those first precious months needed to be cherished… that the company would survive without me. I think I took an extra couple of weeks off at her urging and some of my most treasured memories of early-morning play time with my now first grader happened during that brief window.
That VP showed she cared and cared deeply which drove my enthusiasm for for working for her much more than the work itself.
Gimmicky, feel-good events are quickly forgotten, so forget the Hawaiian shirt days and show them you genuinely care.
It’s part of the leader’s job to show appreciation for people’s contributions and to create a culture of celebrating values and victories.
As a young manager I was guilty of often forgetting to stop, breathe and take a moment to celebrate the small victories that my direct reports and I accomplished. Like getting a 100+-page catalog to print despite major roadblocks… closing out the year with more sales through direct marketing than the previous year… launching a new website that created back-office efficiencies… and probably countless others. With some time and experience managing direct reports — and remembering my own less-than-exemplary leadership moments from the earliest days of my career – I did remember, sometimes, to thank them.
Have you had one of those “You know you’ve nailed it when…” moments as a manager? One of my few such experiences actually came as a shock to me. It was when I made an effort to personalize my gratitude in giving a small “thank you” that I figured this one direct report in particular might like. He commented on the small gift so enthusiastically, reporting just how much it meant to him. Who knew that something as simple as an e-gift certificate for music downloads for the ever-plugged-in production manager would have such an effect. Huh.
Leaders also know that celebrations and rituals, when done with authenticity and from the heart, build a strong sense of collective identity and community spirit that can carry a group through extraordinarily tough times.
Before during and in the aftermath of 9/11 I worked for an international tour operator. The year that followed was extraordinarily tough for the many not the least of which was the travel industry and anyone remotely connected to it. We had several tours in progress when the planes hit and had staff and passengers stranded in various corner of the world for days before flights resumed and we could get everyone home. When the last tour manager arrived safely at home and the last passenger was met by relieved family members, we celebrated. Not with a big inappropriate party or other raucous event but by rallying behind one another in the face of chaos and terror, sharing our stories and experiences, finding and telling the “good” that came from tragedy. In those moments executive management stepped quietly aside and allowed leadership from among the ranks to stand up, shine and demonstrate community.
Ideas for Action
Lastly, let’s get practical with just a few questions to consider as you work toward helping your employees create meaning at work…
1. Connect individuals to the bigger “why.”
What inspires you? Gives you passion? What would inspire your employees and direct reports? In what ways are you working together to create the bigger “why”, the purpose for your organization?
2. Personalize recognition.
How are you currently recognizing individual achievement and contributions to your organization’s purpose? How do you equip managers to reward, recognize and thank employees for a job well done?
3. Reiterate the significance of each role.
How often to you reiterate the organization’s larger purpose? then remind each individual contributor how they in their roles help achieve that purpose? Annually in the all-staff meeting and in the performance review? Quarterly at management reviews? Monthly in the employee online newsletter? Or weekly/daily in informal conversations about the work at hand?
4. Celebrate.
How do you celebrate team or organizational wins? Annual bonus? Cost of living wage increase? Or something more personalized to each contributor?
For Further Reading
Short but sweet summaries and articles to further the point.
The Leadership Challenge, 4th Ed. – executive summary
Leaders Create Meaning, by Robert Whipple, Roberts Wesleyan College
The Importance of Doing Meaningful Work – from Forbes.com
What Makes Work Meaningful? – from PsychologyToday.com
I [Heart] My Job!
February 15, 2011
Creating Your Own “Meaning” at Work
In this job market, it’s not easy [or smart] to walk away from a paycheck in hopes that something more meaningful will *poof* simply appear. Creating meaning in the work you do now is a way, not only to make your current job better, but to set yourself up to be ready for a “dream job” when the right time comes.
Let’s keep this short and sweet shall we and get right to the tips for creating meaning in your work.
Live Your Values
First, you have to know what they are. Try this exercise. From this list start by crossing off those values that do not speak to you. Cross out as many as you can that truly are not important to you.
From those that remain, circle only 10 that mean the most to you.
Can you now narrow it to 5?
How about 3? THE 3 most closely held values that define who you are, your behaviors, your attitudes.
Find ways every day to live your values… at work… at home… at play. When we live what we value, life in general has more meaning.
Adopt a Service Attitude
It’s a commonly held truism in psychology that doing something selfless and serving others has very positive outcomes. It helps minimize depression. Lifts us out of the “woe is me” spiral. Supports appreciating what we do have.
In short, adopting a service attitude is rewarding and uplifting.
So try this at work. Find a way to help someone complete a project, meet a deadline, attack some mundane task that might be more “fun” if you do it together. Something for which you expect no reward, recognition or return of the favor.
In the process you may discover some latent passion that was just waiting for the opportunity to be put to good use. Then consider… how can I get to do more of THIS every day? In my current job? In my next job?
Push The Limits of What You “Love”
Seriously, what do you love to do? Are there other tasks, activities, projects, you can jump into at work that you might at least like? Even a little? Push yourself to try volunteer for something new. Yeah yeah, it’s more work, but what if if makes all the difference in your day? Wouldn’t that be worth it?
And what if, after all this, you discover a new talent, a new passion, a new purpose that you can carry over into your next job?
Let me know how it goes! Post your comments here.
And On That Note…
Used with permission from the artist himself.
My Job Sucks: How to Love (Tolerate) the Job You Can’t Afford to Quit…Yet
February 1, 2011
How to Love (ok, Tolerate) the Job You Can’t Afford to Quit… Yet
If you’ve seen the movie “Office Space” you’ll remember the scene where the female coworker overhears the main character, Peter, saying he’s about to lose it because his commute stinks, his bosses are idiots, his work is meaningless and he thinks his girlfriend is cheating on him. “Uh oh…” says the Sally Sunshine coworker. “Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays.”
Not to be crass but, really, you want to inflict on her exactly what Peter’s neighbor suggests. (Rated R for language; not for little ears.)
Let’s Get Real
In all seriousness, do you have a case of the Mondays? Every day? Do you feel this way at work? Stuck. Wishing for something better. Knowing that there just has to be more to work than TPS reports (again, from “Office Space”).
A few words of encouragement:
- YOU control your professional and career development. Not your boss or the company you work for. It’s up to you to make something positive happen… and YOU CAN DO IT.
- And, a favorite idea from Claire Colvin, Senior Editor for TruthMedia Internet Group, your job does not define you but how you DO it does.
How do you show up at work now? Are you pouting or positive? Do you mope with a little black cloud over your head or do you find something productive to do every day (or at least week) that is in alignment with your career goals and personal brand?
It starts with clearly defining what you want from your career and what you want to be known for (your career vision), then making those opportunities happen for yourself even in — especially in — a job you can’t afford to quit.
Because here’s the best news: It won’t last forever if you are intentional about reaching your career goals. You can start looking for a new job whenever you want. In the meantime, until you find something “better”…
Add Something New
Find … better yet create … an opportunity for yourself at work to shine. To do what YOU do best.
Fact Finders: Find a new or existing project that needs your data-digging strengths. A new research project, a feasibility study, a fact-checking assignment. You naturally need and seek the facts, figures, data to justify and prioritize your work. Volunteer to do what you do best to make sure work the company is doing is worth the investment of time, energy, money. The natural strategist, you’ll make sure what everyone is working on helps move the company toward meeting its business goals.
Follow Thrus: Is there a project that isn’t being managed as effectively as it could? Without ruffling feathers of the current project owners, offer your natural expertise in creating a plan, defining the steps, helping to manage those steps and measuring the results. It’s what you do… you can’t help it. Put your talents to use to help your team or organization complete what they’ve started and measure the outcomes. The natural project manager, you’ll make sure it gets done.
Quick Starts: You’re the natural brainstormer. Are any of your colleagues “stuck” and can’t seem to think what to do to make progress on a project or set of tasks? You are the natural “unsticker.” Offer to brainstorm different solutions with your counterparts to help them work their way out of the paper bag and get moving again. You’ll save them from wasting time in “analysis paralysis.”
Implementors: You strive for quality outcomes, not just band-aid quick-fixes. Jump in and support a project that needs “beta testing” before a full roll out. Run the project through quality tests to ensure the biggest bugs are worked out before the whole team or organization has to implement something new. It’s what you do best! You’ll have your company time, money and other precious resources.
Delegate Something Old
Is there something in your job description that you’ve done a 1000 times and, well, you’re “over it?” Could it be a development opportunity for a junior colleague? A chance for growth for someone else on your team or someone you manage?
Three reasons to delegate it:
- When you delegate a task, activity or project that empowers someone else to put their strengths to work and do what they do best, you’re not only giving them the opportunity to show the team and organization what they’ve got but you’re increasing their level of engagement.
- When you give it away to someone whose natural talent(s) fits the task, that task will be accomplished more productively and efficiently than if you try to complete something that pushes you against your natural modis operandi (M.O.).
- When you give up one thing, you’re freeing yourself to take on more in your role to fit your unique strengths… to do what YOU do best. Please reference “Add Something New.”
Stay Positive
Get rid of the black cloud. And fast. No one likes to work with a Negative Nelly (or Ned). Fake it if you have to for a while. But put on a positive attitude and focus on doing something productive. Especially if you suffer from what I call “workplace depression,” the best cure for on-the-job doldrums is helping someone else accomplish something great. (See #2 on this list of 10 tips for staving off depression.
Your Career: Tuning In to Career Success in 2011
January 19, 2011
Whether you seek a new job or want to achieve more in the position you have, ask yourself these questions to tune into everything you offer to an organization in 2011m whether in a current role or with a new company. Then write down the answers to help you articulate the answer to every manager’s toughest question: “What’s in it for me if I hire [promote] YOU?”
Tune in to your own strengths and needs first so it’s easier to articulate the value you bring to the business.
“How do I solve problems, make decisions, take action?”
Because isn’t that what you do all day, every day on the job?
We each have a unique way of doing these things, our M.O., that is hardwired for a lifetime. Unlike skills that can be learned or personality that changes over time, our M.O. is hardwired. And how we use that circuitry is instrumental in career success when we embrace our M.O…. or failure when we try to “do it” someone else’s way.
Start with identifying how you uniquely tackle challenges when they come up at work:
- Look for all the information to help make sound decisions?
- Create order from chaos, creating a work plan, schedule, charting a course for mitigating the challenge?
- Jump in and figure it out as you go?
- Create a “model” of the solution and beta test for quality?
Your way IS the right way… for you. Start with understanding your unique M.O. then sell yourself as the ideal person for the functional role that allows you to operate “in your zone.”
“How do I want to make a difference, a true, positive impact?”
What does meaningful work look like to you? It’s different for everyone. For some it’s the honorable pursuit of finding the cure for cancer. For others it’s closing a sale. Forget what society, the boss, your colleagues, significant others say is the right thing to do and take time to define what “meaningful work” looks like for you. What would make you jump out of bed every morning and think, ” I GET to go do this today!”?
Then focus on finding opportunities to make that kind of difference. Even if it means adding responsibilities to your current role or finding a job that pays a little less in exchange for a purpose. There’s more to a job than just a paycheck!
“What kind of environment brings out my best work?”
And by environment we mean everything from your personal workspace to the people you work with and for. Get intentional about articulating exactly that you need to do your best work.
- Office with a door for quiet focused work?
- Windows and bright colors to give you energy?
- Open space for open collaboration and constant sharing of ideas?
- Being outside?
- A boss who allows you to work from the occasional coffee shop for a change of scenery?
- Colleagues who share your sense of humor? Values?
Understanding this about yourself will help you know to whom to attach yourself politically in your current role, what to ask for in terms of workspace and justify why you need it. It also helps job seekers ask the right questions to know if a new company is a good fit culturally.
4 Reasons You’re Still Un- (Under-) Employed (And What to Do About Them)
August 31, 2010
Discussions on one of the many LinkedIn groups dedicated to connecting job seekers and those in career transition are changing tone as it’s taking some job seekers longer than expected to land in their next position.
One in particular asks, “Job searching without success?” The reasons given by job seekers for being overlooked and remaining un-(and under-) employed are many but a few clear themes stand out. Here’s what they’re saying… and what to do about it… starting with your resume.
“I’m Not Getting Called for Interviews.”
IYRS… It’s your RESUME, silly. The sole purpose of your resume is to ensure you survive the automated keyword search, make it past the HR department screeners, land on the hiring manager’s desk and have her think, “WOW… I HAVE to call this one in for the interview.” Then, of course, the trick is to impress the hell out of ‘em in person.
If your resume reads like a job description of your current and past positions, you’re sunk. Likely the 100s (if not 1000s) of other applicants applying for the exact same position can claim the same experience in the same tasks. Sorry, but it’s true. What the potential employer actually cares about is whether or not you can produce results. Specifically results that will make or same her money. Demonstrate the VALUE you will bring to the next job by articulating results you’ve produced in the past while a showing a bit of your personality to help them understand if you’re a good cultural fit.
[Stay tuned for a follow-up post outlining How to Avoid 3 Big Resume Mistakes.]
“I’m Too Old.”
Ageism is alive and well in this economy despite what all my HR friends are saying. I know too many Boomer s(and older) seekers who complain about being overlooked. So, unless the dates of your education are recent and important (you just received your PhD in Organizational Leadership, your MBA in Marketing or your BS in Information Systems), leave dates off that point to your age or a professional career that is more than 20 years old. Same goes for certifications and awards. List them, leave off the dates.
“I’m Overqualified.”
Position your experience as a Unique Value Proposition to the employer. Show them that you can produce results the day you step foot in the door and connect those results to their future success.
You also do not need to give the history of your professional life back to the first job in high school, college or post-graduation. Dedicate the precious real estate on your resume and LinkedIn profile to the MOST RELEVANT experience. And, yes, it’s OK to tone down your past job titles. I know many a returning-to-corporate-American entrepreneur who list themselves as “Director of Business Development” or “Operations Manager” in companies they’ve owned.
“I’ve Had Too Many Jobs.”
Job hopping is somewhat expected for Gen X- and Yers though Boomer hiring managers still roll their eyes if you haven’t managed to stay in one position for more than 2 years. Minimize the appearance of job hopping on your resume by eliminating the months and taking out any insignificant positions you were in for only a fews months especially when that position has no relevance to the position you’re going for.
Try It And…
Report back. If making these simple changes continue not to get you noticed, I want to know so we can delve deeper and get you The Job, not just another paycheck. ASAP.
Career Tips from Phineas & Ferb
July 24, 2010
In a recent episode of my family’s new favorite show, step-brothers Phineas & Ferb learn about reverse engineering, defined by the host of the “Uncovery Channel” show they’re watching as the process of closely examining [an object] and its individual parts to figure out “what do it do?” and “how it do what it do?”.
Eureka! Career tips from a Disney cartoon! (A stretch that perhaps only a mom of a 6-year-old who happens to be a career coach can finagle.)
Let me connect some dots…
“WHAT HAVE I DONE?”
We’ve all done it at one time when looking for a job. Open the job board (or, showing my age, opening the Sunday paper looooong ago) and start with a keyword search, maybe. Marketing, IT, sales… See something of interest (for God only knows what reason at that particular moment) and think, “I could do that.”
In a land far far away, a long long time ago it may have gone something like this…
We do the resume to fit that job perfectly and get the interview. We tell them everything they want to hear and by week’s end we have the offer. We start the next Monday and within the first 90 days we awake one Monday morning, sweating uncontrollably over some unnamed source of stress and suddenly it hits us, “What have I DONE? This job isn’t ME!” But we stick it out and promise ourselves we’ll stay two years so we don’t look like a job-hopper on our resumes. Then…
“HOW DID I GET HERE?”
15 years later we wake up one day after chasing jobs and promotions in the same area because those are the skills we have now and say to ourselves, “How did I get HERE? This job isn’t ME!” Ah if we’d only trusted our gut earlier…
[Do you hear the voice of experience in this story? <ahem>]
Where did we go wrong?
CAREER REVERSE ENGINEERING
For starters, we did the job search backwards. Sure it may be the somewhat conventional way job seekers do what they do. But it’s certainly backwards from a job satisfaction point of view.
So I offer this: Instead of starting with what’s out there, the most successful job-seekers-turned-happily-employed start with what’s inside themselves.
Career reverse engineering is the best way to kick off a job search that results in finding that ideal position… the role that will bring the new employee a higher measure of self-worth and <gasp> joy. Yes, it IS ok to actually be HAPPY AT WORK.
5 STEPS & ACTION TIPS
To reverse engineer your own ideal career to jumpstart your search for the next job on that path, it starts with a close examination of YOU. To understand “what do it do” when the it is you.
1) Pay Attention to Your Energy Level
We are each uniquely programmed, if you will, to do something (maybe several things) really well. Those tasks that give us energy — versus deplete it — give us clues about what we are hardwired to do better than anyone else.
PUT IT INTO ACTION: Pay attention for a full week at work or think of your most recent position and it’s daily requirements. Make a list of the energizing activities from each day. Do you see any trends? Categorize these tasks into 3-5 themes. You now have a starting place for your ideal duties and responsibilities on the job.
2) Separate Strengths from Skills
You learn skills. You’re born with certain inalienable strengths. Ignore them at your own peril! [Again, voice of experience here.] Conventional development plans insist, “Work on your weaknesses to improve the things in which you do not already excel.” Really? “Fixing your weaknesses” or “maximizing your strengths,” that is getting better at those things at which you’re already naturally good. Where’s the better return on investment?
PUT IT INTO ACTION: We are our own worst critics, aren’t we? Especially when it comes to valuing what we do best. Ask friends, family, coworkers and others in your circles to write down 5 things they appreciate about how you operate. You may be surprised when you see the words they use. “Really? But that’s just what I do.” Exactly. Now, how do you get to do “that’s just what you do” in your job every day?
3) Stick to Your Core Values
One of the worst things that can happen in an economy such as we’re in now is that we lose sight of what’s most important to us when we get desperate for a paycheck. Might there be compromises along the way? I’m not so Pollyanna to think we might have to give up a few perks to make sure there’s food on the table. But beware sacrificing the principles that are woven into the fabric of your very being.
PUT IT INTO ACTION: This article includes a list of common personal values. Cross out the ones that are unimportant to you. Next, try to narrow the remaining values to 10. Now, take an even closer look. Can you settle on the top 5? How about 3? If these 3-5 values are not shared or at least respected by a potential employer, is it worth taking a position knowing you’ll be compromising what you hold most dear?
4) Articulate Your “Why”
Highest job satisfaction happens when we feel that we’re making an impact, when we care about the work and its outcomes. It’s about finding what is personally meaningful. So, what is it that will elicit, “I get to go to work today!” when the alarm goes off each morning?
PUT IT INTO ACTION: Just for fun, imagine you’ve won the lottery. And I mean the never-have-to-work-another-day jackpot. You no longer need a job for financial security. What do you have to do anyway? What do you care enough about that you will invest your time to see it through? Call it passion, cause, mission… This is your work.
5) Outline Your Success Factors
PUT IT INTO ACTION: Think on these things that can directly impact your professional and personal career success. What do you know you need to be truly successful? What does your physical space look like? Who are you teammates? What kind of leadership support do you need? How are you managed? How do you manage your direct reports? What’s the ideal culture that will bring out your personal best?
OTHER RESOURCES
It’s challenging to try to uncover and articulate our own strengths. One of my favorite resources that can help you do just this is StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. All major book stores are likely to carry it. For about $20 you can purchase the book and take the online SF 2.0 assessment that will help you pinpoint natural talents that when practiced, developed and put to good use become true strengths.
Here’s to getting to do what you do best… every day!
MEET PHINEAS & FERB
The quickest summary: P&F, as it’s now known at the Masse home, is about step-brothers who, as a means to beat Dog Days boredom, devise outrageous activities throughout their summer vacation… like building a large-scale roller coaster throughout their hometown of “Danville,” opening a fine dining restaurant in their backyard and other mega shenanigans. Trust me, it’s way more hilarious than I’m portraying here, I swear.
The short relevant clip is from 1:15-1:40 but by all means watch more…
DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility if you too get hooked. Enjoy!
