Happy New Year! Are You Bouncing Back?

Happy New Year, everyone! It’s hard to believe that we’re beginning our fourth year of Positive Impact! As I’ve traveled around doing my thing these past few years, so many people have asked me how I stay so upbeat and positive! Everyone goes through tough times, and I’m no exception. We’ve all had our share, especially these past couple of years. How we navigate them and “bounce back” is critical to surviving and thriving… personally and professionally.

To help you to stay on track or to “bounce back” this year, I’m happy to launch a new format for my newsletters this year that will include some of my personal navigation tips – words of wisdom, reflections, affirmations, articles and practical advice – that have helped me to focus on the positive and continue moving forward over the years.

Check out my website, www.posimpact.net, for the January edition, "Bouncing Back..."

Here’s to 2010 and new beginnings! Enjoy!

Looking Up & Forward!

It’s mid-December and what a year we’ve experienced! As we approach another new beginning, it’s important for all of us to look up and forward to 2010 with hope and enthusiasm for positive change!

Since the fourth quarter of 2008 and throughout 2009, smart organizations and wise leaders – from solopreneurs to large corporations and non-profits – began (and continue) a process of realignment to serve our (internal/external) customers as well as possible during these changing times to survive and prepare for the upturn. Although, as leaders and managers, we couldn’t do much about the economy at large, we could take certain steps to safeguard our organizations against professional and organizational disaster. We tightened up our spending, went back-to-basics, retooled, and, at times, found it necessary to even resize. Many of us also took advantage of the opportunities presented by the economic downturn to invest in our infrastructures – refreshed websites, new advertising and marketing initiatives, and even added products/services. (Have you heard about my new “Positiv-A-Tea ®”? Check out my website, www.posimpact.net for details about this great new team building program!)

As you’ve heard me say so many times, one of the key elements of our infrastructures is our people, the employees. It’s no secret that resources are strained these days; those wise organizations who recognize and continue to develop and invest in the human resources - the people who are really running their businesses - will hit the jackpot in the short and long run! Their investment in improving the overall workplace environment and boosting morale helps the organization to weather the storm, prepare and recover much quicker and more successfully. Most importantly, it will keep the best and brightest of its talent more fully engaged, thereby, improving customer service and ultimately, bottom-line results.

Engaging the people who are really driving the organization needs to be at the top of this year’s gift list! Keeping morale and productivity up when doing more with less is more critical than ever. As we come to the close of 2009 and begin 2010, (re)building trust, improving communication, growing and fostering the essential “P2P” team relationships are critical to achieving successful results in any organization!

Investing in your people is the greatest gift you can give - to them, to yourself, your organization and to the bottom-line. Spend some time talking with them, informing them about how things are going, retraining and cross-training them, and most of all, having some fun with them! I hope you will continue with the tradition of a holiday gathering - even if it’s on a smaller budget – it will help to improve morale and is needed more than ever this year!

Think about the people on your team(s) and your responses to the following questions as we approach the close of a very difficult year: Do morale and productivity need a boost? Is your organization rebuilding its team after resizing? Do your team members need a renewed sense of community? Does your team need “Positive Energy” and refocusing for the 2010 upturn? I can help…Let’s talk – “P2P”!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy New Year to all of you! I wish you all the blessings of good health, work-life balance, family harmony and the joy of building the essential “P2P” (people-to-people) relationships – both personally and professionally! Thank you for your friendship, your support, and your business this year.

The other day, I received The Gratitude Circle" newsletter from my dear friend and colleague, Deanna Collins. What a message! The topic headline was, "Is Negativity Holding You Back?"
(Check out her newsletters - website www.gratitudecollections.net)

I'm new to the blogging thing but, felt compelled to post the following comments on her blog. Hope you find it helpful...Power-Up, Everyone!

I am so with you on all of this, as you know! With all the doom and gloom in today's workplaces, this message is more important than ever! Never mind the H1N1 virus, negativity can be much worse because it robs us of our spirit. Talk about a "power drain!"

I love the song, "This Little Light of Mine," because it reminds me that we all have the "power" within to choose to be as positive as possible and "light-en up." If we all made the choice every day to practice the principles you talk about, think about the tremendous "power surge" we'd experience - in our homes and workplaces - it would be blinding - of course, in a positive way! What a positive impact our "lights" would have on our families, friends, and in the workplace - on our employees, customers, colleagues, vendors, etc. and bottom-line results!

Imagine - It all began with one little light!

To all Gratitude Circle followers: Let's change the pattern today - choose to "turn up your dimmer switch" today - "light-en up" and give yourself and the world around you a "power surge!" Watch what happens…

What’s Right with People? Have You Asked them Lately?

One of my last positions in the corporate world several years ago involved the administration of the employee survey that took place every other year. As the manager of the employee strategy, I interacted with employees at every level of the organization. Overseeing the data collection, analysis of participants’ responses, and the cross-functional action planning processes for improvements that followed was very “engaging” and interesting work.

Many employee surveys are developed and based upon Gallup organization research. After hundreds of focus groups and thousands of interviews with employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with the “Q12,” a 12-question survey that identified strong feelings of employee engagement. Results showed a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance. This research and its overall connection to managerial effectiveness and business results have been invaluable to many organizations ever since. Even some CFO’s (the numbers people) have seen the light about the connection between engagement levels and bottom-line results!

In addition to Gallup, many organizations and global consulting groups have explored the subject of employee engagement. You may recognize some of them: The Conference Board, Towers Perrin, SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), ASTD (American Society for Training and Development), and the Corporate Leadership council, to name a few.

It’s important to remember that surveying employees and changing the culture are two very different things. Many organizations/companies pay a lot of money (internal salaries and/or external consulting fees) to perform engagement studies and surveys. After spending a lot of time (and money) analyzing and preparing reports for the “upper deck” leadership and creating strategies to implement positive change, in many cases, the work and successful execution of these strategies comes to a stop or gets side tracked, leaving the employees thinking this effort was just “another flavor of the month” program… Lots of time and money spent for what?

Many of you have heard me talk about engagement statistics in my workshops and community college classes. To keep it simple, I’ve combined, averaged and rounded some of these stats for you. Did you know? In most organizations, approximately…
• 20% of employees are fully engaged
• 20% are disengaged
• 60% are what I call the “somewhat’s” – those who are somewhat engaged and somewhat disengaged.

I bet, if you stop and think about your organization, your numbers would be similar. You know the players…

The “engaged”…those who are a joy to work with! They come to work early with a smile and a great can-do attitude. They are eager to learn; run with the ball and, need minimal supervision on our part. Be sure to continue to recognize and reward them appropriately and to offer them development opportunities so they will remain “engaged.”

The “somewhat’s” are the solid middle - the C and B players who are the core of the organization; and, the disengaged, well…you know who they are, too.

With what group do you think we as managers spend most of our time? If you answered, the disengaged, you are correct. Studies show, most managers spend about 80% of their time on (disengaged) employee issues – performance management, attitude adjustment, and other interpersonal and team building issues. Did you know that disengaged employees cost organizations over $300 billion in lost productivity each year?

Do you think it is possible to move the disengaged up into the “somewhat” or engaged groups? Well, hope and positive thinking prompts us to try! But, the hard reality is that rarely do these disengaged folks change their behavior. Improving engagement is a shared commitment and continuous dialogue – between (effective) fully engaged managers and their employees. Do you have employees who feel like "round pegs" in "square holes?" Our conversations with employees should center around the question, "Is this who you are or who you want to be?" It comes down to asking "what can I as a leader do to help you as an employee meet your personal priorities?"

As managers, we need to try to help the “disengaged” with performance improvement plans, coaching, and the like, for a reasonable period of time; of course, always with the guidance of HR. Please, do what is fair, but wasting too much time (and money) is futile… Disengaged employees can have wide-ranging negative effects on a business. Best practices manage them out before they pollute the environment any further.

So, where then should we devote most of our efforts as managers? Where are the odds higher for moving employee performance upward? You’ve got it! With the “somewhat’s!” Research has proven that there is a much higher rate of success in moving the “somewhat’s” closer to the engaged group than there is with improving the disengaged.

So, do yourself and your organization a favor! Open up the conversation channels with all employees, especially the “somewhat’s,” on a regular basis. Ask them their opinions on some key engagement topics: company practices, career & development opportunities, people in leadership and management, quality of life, competitive rewards, and their general work activities, processes, resources. Take the time to develop what’s right with the “somewhat’s” – they are the sleepers!

During these challenging economic times, the “new normal” of leaner organizations has brought survivor syndrome into full bloom. Engagement has never been more critical. As managers, it’s critical to pay close attention to those that are left – those who are really running the day-to-day organization, who are executing your business strategy, who are driving your business results!

Is it easy? No...There is no one-size fits all solution for creating an engaged workforce. No matter what generation - employees want balance, work satisfactionand a good manager who appreciates them.

Did you know?
• +10 – Increasing positive emotions can add 10 years to your lifespan
• Positive interactions don’t just make your job easier; they are vital to a healthy and fulfilling work life
• 65% of Americans say they received NO PRAISE for their work last year – no wonder they are disengaged!
• 9 out of 10 people believe they are more productive when they’re around positive people
• #1 reason people quit jobs – they don’t feel appreciated!

To survive, smart companies do what they have to do – they take advantage of business downturns to continue to develop their people - train in the downturn, implement in the upturn! This preparation helps the company to weather the storm - keeps the best and brightest of its talent more fully engaged which will help them to recover much quicker and more successfully.

Although, as managers, we can’t do much about the economy at large, we can do certain things to safeguard our organizations against professional and organizational disaster. Engaging employees is at the top of the list!

It’s back-to-basics, again folks! Patience, perseverance and positive…

If you’re a people-manager, what is the number one thing you want your employees to do every day? Answer: Come to work! Uplifting employees and boosting morale can help to improve the workplace environment; (you and your) employees will want to come to work! Without the people, nothing happens!

What is the one thing you can start doing today to create a more positive workplace environment for you and your employees? Rather than focus on the negatives about people in your workgroup and organization - flip it around and ask, “What’s right with people?” And, watch what happens!


A Positive Workplace Means Business! It Just Makes Cent$! ®

Melting Pot or Tossed Salad?

As kids in elementary school, we learned about America being a “melting pot,” a nation of immigrants, each year welcoming hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children from different countries, races, and religious backgrounds from around the world. Many of our own ancestors came through Ellis Island with the hope of change for a better life. Mine came from Naples, Italy to upstate New York and brought with them the leather glove trade. What about yours?

While finishing my leadership studies degree many years ago at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, a professor posed the following question to us: Is America a “melting pot” or a “tossed salad?” He asked us to choose one or the other and defend our position…which started me thinking very differently about the meaning of diversity. Read on to see what I chose…

We hear so much about “diversity” these days. In many organizations, much attention and effort has been given to promote diversity by increasing the representation of people of color, women and other groups in the workforce. However, by just increasing the numbers represented of any population is not enough to make a real difference in individual or organizational performance.

To most people “diversity” means those differences that we can see. It’s much more…It’s also about what we can’t see – disabilities, different experiences, personality and management styles, lifestyle choices, and perspectives. Diversity exists in just about every organization; differences, however, are seldom fully understood and rarely regarded or used as an asset.

The issue becomes more about just having diversity (those things that make us different) in an organization. It’s about understanding the true meaning of diversity and its powerful impact (both positive and negative) on individual and organizational performance. And bottom-line results…

What then is the true meaning of diversity? Diversity is about our global view or, simply stated, how we see the world on three levels. Ask yourself these three questions to determine your global view. (1) Who am I? (things we cannot change – race, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual preference, differing abilities (physical/mental), etc.), (2) What do I choose? (religion, education, family lifestyle, physical appearance, language, etc.) and (3) Who am I in the workplace? (title, corporate employee, self-employed, cube dweller, posh office, manager, non-manager, etc.) These three levels affect our thoughts, behaviors and outcomes of any given situation, at home, at work or at play.

Surveys indicate that very few people today feel welcome or able to contribute their full range of skills, experiences, ideas and opinions in their workplace. As a result, few people fully invest the bulk of their energy to their job or the organization! Today, more than ever, what’s wrong with that picture?

Changing an organization’s work culture is not something that can be accomplished through a new mission statement, employee handbook, recruitment policy or mentoring program. It requires new ways of thinking about, working with and behaving toward people, both as individuals, in teams, inside, outside and at all levels of the organization. It’s about “P2P” (the people-to-people connections) and creating a positive workplace environment where our differences and our similarities are fully appreciated and utilized.

It’s about creating and sustaining an inclusive workplace environment where:
People feel a sense of belonging
People feel respected, valued and SEEN for who they are
There is a level of supportive energy and commitment from leaders, peers, and others so that all people can do their best work

Having “diversity” without “inclusion” is not enough. Simply stated, Diversity = Differences. Inclusion = Action. And action is the key word! Every day, we can each contribute to a more inclusive workplace environment through our own individual actions by becoming more aware of our implicit biases, attitudes and behaviors in every situation or interaction. More importantly, we need to recognize and respond to situations where co-workers, vendors, and customers do not feel included.

Inclusive workplace environments that leverage diversity and practice inclusion not only demonstrate that it is the right thing to do, they have also seen measurable, positive change, such as improved morale, higher levels of productivity and customer service, reduced turnover, and improved results. It just makes cent$!

In this year of change, “new normal’s,” and surviving survivor syndrome, let’s try to set aside a period of time each day to better understand and strengthen the ties that bind us, as people first, despite our differences. In addition to gaining a deeper understanding of each other and developing a greater sense of connection – “P2P” – we will be creating the positive energy among us needed to survive, thrive, and make positive changes in our homes, our workplaces, and our world.

So, what do you think? “melting pot” or “tossed salad?” To me, the “melting pot” stance means people’s differences just melt together from intense heat and pressure to form one big, unhealthy, artery-clogging glob, making it more difficult to see or appreciate the individual ingredients any longer. I choose to think of diversity as a “tossed salad.” The colorful, inwardly and outwardly different ingredients that, alone are terrific, yet when combined with others and dressed with tolerance, understanding, and hope, make for a terrific, healthy way to live and work! Which one defines your workplace?

What can you do to make a difference? Start first thing tomorrow morning by greeting everyone you see and calling those you know by name. It all starts with a simple “hello.”

A Positive Workplace Means Business! It Just Makes “Cent$!”®

Why Are Some Managers Toxic...and Why Should You Care?

If you’ve been working for any length of time like I have, you’ve experienced the full gamut of managers – from the terrific to the terribly toxic. The terrific inspire us to do our best, encourage and teach us, recognize our efforts and create an environment where we want to come to work each day! When we want to come to work each day, productivity increases, customers are served well, and results improve…It just makes cent$!

Then there’s the flipside! Have you ever had a manager who…bullies, threatens, yells? Whose mood swings determine the workplace environment on any given workday? Who forces employees to whisper in cubicles or in hallways? Who talks about other employees behind their backs to you? Who micromanages? Over the past few months, I’ve heard more and more horror stories from people about their toxic managers. Is it a sign of the stressful times we are living in or are there just some people who are miserable to work for no matter what?

When I think back over my own career, I can name four who immediately come to mind! I got through their reigns of terror, and even though it was very challenging, I still learned valuable some lessons from them; namely, how not to behave as a people manager – of what not to do with the organization’s most valuable asset – the people who are really driving the business. What about you?
Call it what you want – poor interpersonal skills, unfortunate workplace practices, insecure people who have been miscast in their role, promoted to management ranks because of time on the job or because of internal politics and favoritism…Whatever the reasons, working for these managers is an uncomfortable, stressful and unproductive experience for most. All of which affect the results of the organization.

According to research, during difficult economic times, certain work situations foster toxic managers. Here are some of the reasons:
* When a company has gone through downsizings, pay freezes or other financial crises, negative management tends to thrive.
* When the emphasis is on get-tough tactics and turnaround, senior management often turns a blind eye to toxic managers as long as their numbers are good.
* Employees are less likely to speak up about these managers since they don’t want to sound like they are whining or risk their jobs in this shaky environment.
Contrary to what image is projected, all is not well if you have one of these toxic managers in your workplace. “It’s unhealthy, unproductive and will eventually undo HR’s efforts to create a healthy, happy and progressive workplace,” says, author Gillian Flynn.

So, why are some managers toxic? “The biggest reason is because it is tolerated,” says Lynne McClure, a Mesa, Arizona-based expert on managing high risk behaviors and author of Risky Business, a book about workplace violence prevention.

I’ve seen the tolerance for myself and agree with her – if a company has toxic managers, it’s because the culture enables it – knowingly or unknowingly – from the top down. Remember Meryl Streep in the movie, The Devil Wears Prada?

So, why should you and your organization care?
* At the very least, there’s the morale issue. Any form of bullying or psychological abuse over time can cause emotional damage or other health-related, stress issues.
* Toxic managers infect their departments like a virus spreading anger and depression, which shows up in so-so employee performance, absenteeism and turnover because employees are fearful or don’t feel appreciated.
* Toxic work environments can easily escalate into hostility, real violence, harassment and intimidation all of which can end up as costly legal hassles.
* The organization’s (internal and external) reputation will be damaged causing top talent to leave and others to deliberately avoid applying for work there.

Are you a "people manager?" What are your employees saying about you?

Bottom-line: Low morale, turnover, absenteeism, disengaged employees, and hostile work environments cost an organization a great deal of $$$$!

The ever-important partnership between the manager and the employees is a critical success factor for driving results in any organization. For more information on this topic, check out Chapter Four, The Equation for Success, in my new book…A Positive Workplace Means Business! It Just Makes Cent$!

Economic Turmoil = Opportunities

March is roaring in like a lion here in the Northeast! The huge overnight storm has already left up to 12 inches of snow around these parts. So, while this late winter weather (that we have no control over) creates turmoil at the start of another work week, it also creates opportunity to do some things inside today. Like catching up on blog postings!

The economic turmoil we are experiencing (which many of us did not create) also creates opportunities for (inside) growth and change, both personally and professionally. If you're like most of us, you feel that you have no control over what is happening. Well, looking at the big economic picture, that's true. We have minimal control over bailouts, stimulus packages, federal budgets, credit crunches, and the like. However...

It's important to think about what we do have control over during times like these. Rather than choosing a "doom and gloom," "woe is me" attitude, let's all try very hard to keep an "attitude of gratitude," one person at a time, to change our perception and maybe our immediate environment. What are you grateful for today?

About three weeks ago, I found myself feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. With tv/radio/newspapers/Internet choosing to report very little good news and people around us rarely smiling any more, I literally said to myself, "That's enough! I've had it!" I decided right then to KEEP MY POWER and refocus on the positive in my life. How are we going to cope and continue to build our careers and businesses when we are focused only on the negative? We will miss some great opportunities!

Since then, I've decided to regroup and take the high road each day, in spite of the negative people and situations that are in all of our lives. Don't get me wrong, I'm no Pollyanna, who only sees through rose-colored glasses. Yes, there's a lot of fear and desperation out there. And we know that desperate times make some desperate people. The dark side of human nature can kick in during these times, leaving objectivity and good judgement on the doorstep.

Remember the book, "The Secret," and the laws of attraction? We get what we give...

At the beginning of each workshop and community college class I teach, both this semester and last, I ask everyone to share one positive thing that is happening in their lives. Some readily share, while many others struggle to find one thing. By focusing, they do come up with something! Let's start a new positive virus!

As we begin a new month, I invite you to join me - today and every day - in starting each day with an attitude of gratitude. Find just one new thing each day that you are grateful for and you'll soon see that you're attitude will change, your heart will feel lighter, your mind will be at peace and more focused. You'll notice more good things starting to happen...

Patience, persistence and positive...We're all in this together, so let's Power-Up!