Why gratitude makes you a better manager?

February 2, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

gratitude or geniune praise and appreciation

Why gratitude makes you a better manager?

By Wendy Woods

Makes you more empathetic. People with a strong disposition toward gratitude have the capacity to be empathic and to take the perspective of others (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002). Empathy is one of the skills required for Emotional Intelligence which accounts for 80% of success at work.

Leads to greater optimism and positive emotions within your team. Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions and optimism (Emmons & McCullough, 2003) which is easily transferred to others by mood contagion (Roland Neumann,2000)

Leads to greater employee loyalty. In 2001 Michael McCullough found that interactions that involved an expression of gratitude encouraged the other person to behave in a loyal manner. In a recent survey carried out by Susan M. Heathfield, fifty-five percent of the respondents said that praise and attention from their supervisor would make them feel as if the company cared about them and their well-being.

Quick & simple ways to express gratitude to your employees:

Say thank you every opportunity you get. It seems like such an obvious expression of gratitude but it’s often forgotten or overlooked. Employees tell me time and again that all they want from their boss, and colleagues, is a simple thank you. Make sure everyone hears those words from you often.

Praise their contributions. Everyone appreciates genuine praise regardless of their position and level of success. Make sure your employees know you are grateful for their contributions; don’t keep them wondering.

Let employees know that their work contributes to the organization’s overall success. The need to feel connected to a larger cause is very important to most employees. Believing that “the mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important” is a primary motivator, according to the authors of 12: The Elements of Great Managing by James Harter and Rodd Wagner.

“Gratitude is the best attitude.” ~ Author Unknown

Filed Under: Blog, Leadership, Team Development Tagged With: Emmons & McCullough, Emotional Intelligence, empathetic, employee loyalty, genuine praise, gratitude, James Harter, Michael McCullough, optimism, positive emotions, primary motivator, Rodd Wagner, Roland Neumann, Susan M. Heathfield, thank you, The Elements of Great Managing

Integrity

January 10, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

One of the most exciting aspects of my role is when I get feedback on the integrity of our alliance members. In a recent situation I introduced an alliance partner to a client for a harassment program to be delivered to mid level managers. This alliance partner had some additional questions that needed to be answered above what I had provided in my assessment. One of the things that needed to be determined was how the senior management would support the learning.

After several discussions, this alliance partner said they could not deliver the program as the senior team was not in alignment with what was to be covered in the program. This client was very appreciative of the ethics of this alliance partner and has scheduled a training program with the senior team as the initial steps. Once the senior team is aligned, the implementation of the required changes will happen at the top, then appropriately filtered down through the rest of the organization. We often hear that “it starts at the top” in reference to corporate culture and practices and this was certainly the case here.

Filed Under: Customer Service, Leadership, Miscellaneous

Understanding the Training Need

December 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Often I get calls from people who want to conduct training. These requests are made for many different topics. One of the first things I ask is “What do you want to be different after the training?” and “How will you know the training was successful?” These two questions usually result in going a little deeper into the need. I thought for this month’s blog I would list a few other questions that can be asked when looking at addressing a training need.

1) How does the environment support the learning?

2) What will people say or do differently after the training?

3) Do you want raise awareness, enhance skills or change behaviours?

4) What are overall attitudes and experience of the attendees?

Filed Under: Leadership, Miscellaneous, Specialty Topics

A Tribute

November 8, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Over the past month my sisters and I have been caring for my dying father. Our Dad, Peter Ostertag, died on October 26, 2010. The reason I am including this tribute to my father on my business blog is what I experienced as we pooled our resources to give our father the absolute best care we could. His wish was to die at home and we were all committed to do whatever it would take to honour this wish.

I have always known that teams that pull together for the same common goal can achieve extraordinary results, but I actually got to be part of a dynamic team of women and experience teamwork in a new way.

We all came to our Dad’s bedside with different strengths and we simply executed our duties with only one thought in mind “The Best Care For Dad.” There were emotional moments and feelings of frustration and stress, yet we all seem to work together like a well oiled machine. Each of us did tasks we have never done before and with no training, this didn’t seem to matter. We were all honoured to support our father during his last days.

I now see the need for teams to have a shared vision more than ever before.

Rest in peace Dad.

Filed Under: Leadership, Miscellaneous, Team Development

Taking it to the Next Level

September 13, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

I often get asked about a program for a leader to help them take their performance to the next level. Frequently, these people have been promoted from within and have a deep understanding of their business but they may lack skills in other areas. In these situations I find out what exactly needs to be different and determine if one of our public offerings would provide the necessary training or would coaching be a better option.

About a year I was approached by an HR Director to discuss possible training for one of their high potential employees. This individual was doing a great job as a manager and was being considered for a more senior position. There were a few concerns about this person’s image, their communication skills and ability to really inspire people. The HR Director and I explored several options and chose to provide this manager with a coach. The coach worked with her one-on-one for approximately nine months and together they worked through many of this individual’s hidden barriers to success. This manager really embraced the coaching and her when I spoke with the HR Director recently I learned that this manager had been promoted. The senior executive team has been thoroughly impressed with the transformation of this individual have all expressed their delight in having her as part of the team. This manager told the HR Director that the coaching not only helped her in her work but also had a very positive affect in her home life as well.

Filed Under: Coaching, Leadership

Private or Public Programs?

August 30, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Occasionally I get calls from organizations that only have a need for a few employees to attend a training session. We usually first explore if there are other people within the organization that could also benefit from the training. Most recently we were approached for supervisory training for three shop floor supervisors. After a few conversations with other departments (accounting, customer service and logistics) it was apparent that all of the supervisors could benefit from a program. My alliance partner then designed an appropriate program to address the similar and diverse needs of this group.

We had another similar situation and after a careful assessment determined the best approach for this company was to send their three supervisors to our alliance partner’s public program. In both cases the clients were thrilled at the results.

Filed Under: Customer Service, Leadership, Miscellaneous, Specialty Topics

Lunch & Learns Made Easy

July 12, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

A legal firm approached me after our initial introduction meeting to inquire about running lunch and learns for their admin staff. They had an approved budget and were excited to get started. We sat down and looked at all of their options and after a one hour meeting we walked away with a tentative schedule for 15 lunch and learns. These programs were to run throughout the year. They chose programs such as: Leadership, Communication Skills, Wellness, True Colors, Personal Branding, Goal Setting, Delegation and more. I arranged for each of the facilitators to meet with the two young ladies who were managing this project.

One of the young ladies said it would have taken weeks to search the internet and find programs for the variety of programs they wanted to offer, not to mention interviewing the various companies. The customer was so impressed at the calibre of the trainers and their programs and commented more than once how easy I was to work with the Athena Alliance.

Filed Under: Customer Service, Leadership, Miscellaneous, Sales, Specialty Topics, Team Development, Wellness, Health & Safety

Presentation Skills

July 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

A manufacturer approached me to inquire about a Presentation Skills program for their engineers. The engineers in this firm were extremely knowledgeable and frequently were required to give presentations to both customers and suppliers. The Director of Human Resources had been asked to source a program that would give the engineers the tools they needed to deliver more professional presentations. This was an easy one for me because I personally deliver a very powerful half day program that includes a follow up session.

Like most people today, these engineers were very busy and did not want to take a lot of time out of their busy schedules to take a course. I recommended they do our half day course which is designed so the participants deliver presentations within an hour from the beginning of the program. The participants loved receiving feedback from both their peers and the facilitator. They also left with a DVD of their presentations so they could see where they needed to improve and prepare for the follow up session. The General Manager also attended the session and at the end he said he was impressed with the impact the program had within a short period of time. We continue to run programs several times a year.

Filed Under: Leadership, Miscellaneous, Specialty Topics

Athena Alliance ~ The Perfect Fit Solution

June 21, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

It is hard to believe it has been five years since I started the Athena Alliance. Time has flown. Since the beginning there has been one customer who has embraced the alliance concept fully. This particular client has created their own in-house university and continually accesses the resources within our alliance to deliver customized solutions for their unique environment. They have a very strong focus on building leaders and leadership development. This has paid off for them as they have almost zero turnover.

This particular client has commented many times how easy we make it for her to offer her employees training from some of the best trainers, coaches and facilitators in the business. They have offered their employees some of the most cutting edge training and coaching available. She is delighted that she can call me and we can provide her with a “Perfect Fit” partner. This company is committed to the continuous development of their employees and our trainers often comment on what a fabulous experience they have working with this client. We are all truly grateful for the opportunity to work with this client and other similar organizations.

Filed Under: Coaching, Leadership, Miscellaneous, Specialty Topics, Team Development

Internal Customer Service

June 14, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

I thought this was a great story to share because often when we think of Customer Service, we think of providing service for external people only. One of our clients in the communications and marketing industry called to ask if I could suggest some ideas to address an internal concern they were experiencing. The employees in the finance department were in constant conflict with the other departments within the organization. There was a lot of frustration with the way the finance folks were being received. After doing a little research, I learned that there was a need to provide the finance department with some new tools by which to deal with their day to day situations. The finance department lacked both the customer service skills and the understanding that the other employees they were dealing with were actually their internal customers.

I connected this client with our Alliance partner who is highly skilled at customizing customer service solutions. The initial program helped shift the perception of the finance department to create a customer service attitude toward everyone they dealt with. The subsequent program provided them with the tools to respond consistently in a professional manner to both internal and external people.

I recently spoke with one of the participants and she shared with me how much more pleasant it was to work in their department now.

Filed Under: Customer Service, Leadership