Enthuse and Energize
August 2003
We are talking about T.R.U.E. teambuilding and the four elements of teamwork: Trust, Resources, Uniqueness & Unanimity. We finish with E, for Energy and Enthusiasm.
When you manage people, one of your main responsibilities is to motivate and energize. You are a leader; it falls to you to set the tone. If you set a tone of cheerful elasticity, your days will flow better, and those around you will seem smarter and more cooperative. If you set a tone of suspicion and blame, your days may begin to fill with unpleasant interactions and those around you may start to seem sneaky and more defensive. If you set a tone of benign neglect or disinterest, well, there goes the neighborhood. You get my drift … it’s up to you.
Sometimes this is hard. When you’re not feeling at your best, it can be difficult to energize others. What can you do when you feel like you couldn’t motivate your dog, let alone everyone else? Take a day off. Go away for the weekend. Bring chocolate in for everyone. Or fresh flowers for the entryway. Bring a comedy video to play at noon and have a Laughing Lunch. When you laugh – you live longer and smarter – they’ve proven it. (You can quote me on this if people stare at you like you’ve just landed, when you invite them to a Laughing Lunch.)
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” The workplace is just another stage. Sometimes supervising comes down to babysitting adults. They call in sick, act out comedies and tragedies, and even bits of action flicks. They have grouchy days and exuberant days. As do you. Most days we act grown-up, but sometimes we have our childish moments. When you have a childish moment, my best advice is to take one of your grown-up ones and use it to go apologize later.
When your employees act inappropriately, it can be hard to handle smoothly and wisely. Especially if you’re having a cranky day. If you are – take a Temper Time Out and remember that there could be a million reasons why. Then go try to find out – as pleasantly and matter-of-factly as you can. If the reasons make sense, do your best to understand. Help the person resolve things with a positive outcome. If it becomes a pattern, of course you will have to take action. If not, remember that we all have bad days, and move on.
Notice people doing things right. Mention it, casually, as you go by. Announce it at a staff meeting – or both. If you just got some good news from a client and you’re walking past the break area, poke your head in and tell people. No matter how casual or formal a workplace, people like hearing things straight from the boss. Especially praise or good news.
When you take note, people feel noticed and appreciated - a great motivator. I’m not advocating turning the workplace into a gabfest about everyone’s personal lives, but when an employee has a child in a school play, ask how it went. Give them an hour off to make sure the family gets there on time. Small gestures mean a lot, and are the kinds of things that keep good employees happy to be working for you.
Yes, some folks get out of hand in bringing their personal lives into work. I once was in the difficult position of having the desk next to The Very Best Friend Of Melodramatic Melanie. For an amazing amount of time a day, I was forced to listen to tales of her out-of-control life, told at a stage whisper to my officemate. Which was mind-numbing and frustrating. As if that wasn’t bad enough, after hours of this I would inevitably break down and say something just as the boss was walking by. Which made it look like I was participating in an all-female gabfest. This was in the eighties, and I was one of very few women in engineering. I worked hard and wanted no part of this, but was guilty by proximity. It was horrible.
So remember that this is irritating for everyone, and nip it in the bud. That said, the Melodramatic Mel’s and Melanie’s will abuse any situation, so don’t let your fear of them stop you from making your workplace a human-friendly place. Most people will respond to better working circumstances by becoming more pleasant, working smarter and showing up more often. It’s hard to argue against that.
You can play your part best by keeping your own batteries well-charged. Take care of all facets of your life: physical, mental and emotional. Eat good food; get exercise doing something you enjoy. Spend time with friends and family. When you are at work, be there one hundred percent, and be involved. Do the same thing at home.
When you are rested, happy, and balanced, it is much easier to enthuse and motivate others. If you are tired, stressed, living on bad food and caffeine, and missing your home life, the effect you are having on others is probably not energizing! You are most likely doing more harm than good, and should take some down time. If someone has put this on your desk with this paragraph highlighted, take a deep breath, a long pause, and then some vacation. Thank them when you get back.
By keeping yourself refreshed and tuned, you can set a tone of cheerful competence, an invariably excellent business attitude. It’s rare to find a client anywhere who says, “You know, that Dept. XYZ was just too swift and efficient. Pleasant, too. Boy, I’d hate to go back there!” But there are plenty of complaints to the contrary. Which means you can stand out from the competition by maintaining a workplace that is twice as happy and twice as productive. And that’s good business.
Ramona Abbott helps businesses maximize their efficiency, effectiveness and group dynamics. She utilizes proven techniques that are fun and affordable to help you improve your workplace in a variety of ways. She welcomes inquiries at 360-398-2606 or ramona@EssentiallyProfessional.com
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