Every situation we encounter has a result and sometimes the outcome is better or worse than we want. This can lead to experiencing emotional highs and lows that make life feel like a roller coaster.
The exercise “The Two Ends of the Stick” is a great way to maintain an equilibrium in our attitude and thus avoid the highs and lows that often result due to our reactions to what occurred.
Here is a real-life example with someone I did this exercise with. Alexia had heard that her boss had sold the business and she was worried that she would lose her status as assistant director or worse, lose her job.
I asked her to imagine the best possible outcome and the worst. Her best possible outcome was that she would get a promotion with greater authority and pay. The worst case was she would lose her job and have financial difficulty. She was feeling a lot of stress.
It turned out that the business was purchased by a company that was international and she would be getting a promotion with better pay.
Try out this exercise for yourself and see what it does for you. I have for a marketing program I launched, and it worked. The program flopped but I had imagined much worse than the actual outcome. So instead of quitting I modified the program and will see how it works out soon. I did feel that doing this exercise before launching my project did help with my expectations. Here is the link to the audio podcast on Spotify that walks you through the exercise. You can also listen directly below.
Writing a goal down on paper has always been recommended by experts as the best way to use all your resources for achieving the goal.
Writing the goal incorporates all your three brains or centers of intelligence. This is especially true when using my goal planning form that is free to download.
As you think through the goal planning process you use your intellectual brain to think through each component of the goal.
As you write and think of the benefits you engage your heart brain or emotional center of intelligence. The visualization and affirmations section further stimulate the emotions.
The act of writing the goal incorporates the physical or instinctive brain and the section on acting is where this movement center will know what to do through your instinctive nature.
Writing the goal down using the goal planning worksheet does take more time than just thinking of a goal and visualizing it. But you can see that using all your brain resources is such a powerful way to work on something so important as a goal. It gives you a fully balanced approach to the process.
I am seeing more and more people using titles like director of Employee Happiness or Head of Corporate Culture these days and it points to the importance leaders are placing on the culture of their company and the experience of employees.
There is a fierce competition for good talent and especially knowledge workers as technology continues to drive change and innovation. While some sectors are suffering due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, others are thriving and lack the personnel needed to meet demand.
I have been noticing this trend not only in large companies where they can have a person in HR dedicated to employee happiness and engagement, but also in smaller firms. In small and medium size companies this person probably wears many hats but deliberately uses a title that shows their focus on people.
This made me think of how effective this approach is to gain the engagement of employees and create a culture focused on people. After all, the role of employee satisfaction and engagement is not that of one person. It is the responsibility of everyone as the interactions between people can quickly impact a person’s experience and satisfaction with their work environment.
Engagement on the job begins with one’s work. People need to enjoy what they are doing, have sufficient challenge and feel that they are growing and contributing.
The next level of engagement revolves around the relationships they have with their boss and co-workers. Trust is the foundation of fostering good relationships and this is where the company must ensure that people are treating each other with respect and openness to get their work done.
Another level of engagement and job satisfaction comes from people’s perception of top management. This is where ongoing communication is of utmost importance especially during uncertain times. People want to be kept informed of the health of the company and plans for change so they can prepare themselves accordingly.
Another important element of engagement and satisfaction is investment in ongoing training and development. As it is extremely hard to predict the future, people need to feel they can market themselves with an up to date skill set. Ongoing training should include whatever technical skills are relevant to the job and may become important in the future. Teamwork and interpersonal skills are also important as the ability to collaborate with diverse people both locally and virtually has grown in importance.
Providing or taking on a people-oriented title for a director or executive is a good idea but a title does not produce a culture that values and invests in people. A good strategy and action are required based on a good understanding of the needs of employees. As well, everyone especially managers need to be committed to the strategy and taking the necessary actions.
I have been reading about a lot of companies who have put the focus on their people to assure their needs are being met during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a business practice, will putting employees needs first have them become more productive, engaged with the company and boost profits?
When we think of people, we first think of our employees. Of course, their needs must be met in order for them to perform well and to feel motivated. But employees are not the only people associated with the company and whose needs should be met.
We must think holistically when it comes to people and consider the needs of all stakeholders. This means employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders.
A good exercise to do with managers is to list the needs of employees that must be met for them to perform their work well and be productive. Then discuss the list and determine how well their needs are being met by management. You can also form focus groups made up of managers and employees and conduct the same exercise.
A more holistic approach would be do the same for the other stakeholders including customers, suppliers, and shareholders. I suggest involving employees in these discussions as this would raise their awareness of how what they do daily affects everyone concerned.
By doing this exercise you will identify gaps in meeting the key needs of stakeholders and you can then prioritize items to work on to improve and narrow the gaps.
When working with teams of employees on team training, I have often discovered that employees lack the understanding of how a business works and what goes into making profits. Providing employees a perspective on meeting the needs of all stakeholders might change their view of the impact their performance has on everyone.
It is important to take a balanced approach to meeting the requirements of people so that all needs are being met.
