Last week my work took me to a level I’m not sure I had truly ever reached before; it was one of those powerful experiences I am delighted to share. I traveled 4 hours east of Atlanta to a client in South Carolina. I went into this office believing I could really help them, although not quite visualizing how. But the answer was very quickly revealed to me almost upon my arrival, and I learned again that positive results take many, many forms.
As I continue to grow my Productivity Consulting Business, I am more than ever convinced that productivity looks different and is measured in many ways. It’s not just about how much you get done in any given day, or how your environment functions in your work place. Productivity is also the positive outcome of happy, empowered employees. Because whether we agree with our staff or not, what they are experiencing on a daily basis is their reality – and the quicker we know what that looks like to them, the quicker we can take the steps necessary to promote an enthusiastic, even passionate workplace. This positive and focused process not only makes the staff more productive, it encourages clients to feel better about the services given to them. We all know that when we are doing something we don’t particularly enjoy, we tend not to do it very well.
Passion is a combination of doing what you love, loving what you do and always looking for ways to do it better. In South Carolina, after interviewing a staff of 14 and finding out what they think is “working” and “not working” in the office – the first time they had ever been asked to consider that question – we proceeded to turn things around very quickly. In 48 hours we, as a team, obliterated the negative energy in the office and immediately started climbing up the emotional ladder to gratitude and hopefulness. Then we actually went from hopefulness right to enthusiasm without blinking an eye! I guided them through an exercise that was not only emotional, but invited everyone to speak from the heart – what I refer to as my POSITIVE SENTIMENT PROCESS. And that is exactly what this is…a process of finding out what the overall energy looks and feels like in your business and starting to turn it around for the sake of not only your employees, but your clients as well.
Most businesses don’t start out with negative energy. It takes a while for people and problems to set it before it affects the entire organization. And therefore, you can’t expect them to recover any faster than they broke down. Remember it’s a process – one that is worth looking at and resolving so that you get what you and everyone wants and deserves out of their business and their life.
The job of a problem is to “Get Your Attention”. So when it does get yours – what do you plan to do about it? Make sure that someone in your organization is doing everything they can to hear what your staff is thinking and sharing amongst each other – chances are there are some important things being shared between them that if you knew about, you could do something about. And make sure you invite your staff to be part of the solution – that’s when their investment in positive movement forward (momentum) empowers them to step up their productivity and their passion.
Thanks to an incredible experience in South Carolina – one that will resonate with me for a very long time. I have been shown, once again, what I am here on this earth to do. No doubt, I am guaranteed satisfaction every time I do what lifts my heart and drives me to help others. It’s a toss-up as to who is more satisfied after a trip like that (the client or me). Let’s just settle on a win/win – because it actually doesn’t get better than that!
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Wendy Ellin is a Productivity Consultant, Speaker, Trainer & Author. Contact wendy@wendyellin.com for info about developing an organizational system, improving communication & increasing the productivity at your company or association.