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Duck Tales

March/April 2003

Are You Engaged?

Having employees who are engaged and passionate about their work makes all the difference. A Gallup survey found that only 26 percent of U.S. workers are engaged at work, and 19 percent are actively disengaged, or “fundamentally disconnected” from their jobs. Those 19 percent are costing the U.S. economy between $292 billion and $355 billion each year.

Compared to their colleagues, the actively disengaged employees are: significantly less productive, less loyal to their employers, less satisfied with their personal lives, more stressed, and less secure about their work.

Even when employees are disengaged, you can turn them around. But prevention is still the best solution—don’t let them get disengaged in the first place! When people join your organization, they are fired up and ready to do great things. Nobody starts a job feeling bored or disengaged. New hires can’t wait to roll up their sleeves and contribute to the success of your organization. What you need to do is fan the flames of their passion from the onset to keep them enthusiastic, interested, and engaged. How do you do that? Read on….

Cultivate Passion
Businesses that cultivate passion among their employees unleash positive emotions that give them a competitive edge and long-term success. Take it from Trust E. Duck,® you can cultivate passion and encourage stellar performance with these tips:

Assure them. If you want more enthusiasm, let people know that their employment is secure, even if their job changes. People who worry about job security have no heart for passion
Where can I make the greatest contribution? When workers feel that the organization values their talents and that those talents meet the strategic direction of the company, everyone benefits. A job must do more than create an end product. It should add value in a significant and recognizable way.
Make it cool. While “cool” projects may seem like something valued only by Generation Xers, meaningful and memorable work is important to workers of all ages. When employees feel their work matters, they fall in love with their jobs. “Cool” projects attract creative, intelligent, and productive workers.

Working in the Zone Workers, like athletes, can optimize their performance if they have the opportunity to “work in the zone.” Working in the zone maximizes innovation, passion, and energy in the workplace. But how do employees reach the zone?

Managers and supervisors are key, because they are the ones who can provide opportunities for workers to optimize their potential. Linda Echeverria, a research director at Corning, says managers should assign workers to jobs they feel passionate about and allow them to think uncon-ventionally and take risks. When she assigns jobs, Echeverria makes sure that she learns about employees’ families, hobbies, and concerns outside the office. All of that information, she says, allows her to take into consideration an employee’s total personality. Then she can find the right fit for the job.

Encouraging latent talents in employees energizes them and helps them to avoid feeling stifled and misunderstood. A broader use of skills, according to Echeverria, not only allows employees to expand and enhance their performance, it gives the company a distinct advantage in making breakthroughs in all areas of business.

The Fruition of Intuition
How many times have you been in a business situation where you intuitively knew that a proposed idea just wouldn’t work? How often did you voice your opinion? If you’re like most, you depend on hard data rather than your “gut reaction” when forming a business decision. Not every decision, however, can be made solely on data. And not every project will succeed just because the numbers say it will.

Intuition is one of the most powerful, yet misunderstood decision-making tools managers have available. When you’re working “in the zone,” intuition can help you transform your gut feelings into successful business decisions. For example, by encouraging its staff to use their intuition, DuPont cut its product development time from three years to three months. Here are a few ideas on maximizing your intuition:

Ask yourself how you feel. Also, ask colleagues what their “gut reaction” to an idea is before anyone makes a final decision.
Tune into first impressions. As soon as you are confronted with a new situation, ask yourself, “If I had to make a decision right now, what would I do?”
Keep a record. Start recording your initial impressions of ideas. Once you see how often your “gut feeling” serves you correctly, you’ll feel more comfortable about sharing your intuitive decisions with others.

Energize Your Business Meetings
Business meetings are notorious for their, shall we say, lack of liveliness. Dull meetings zap people of their energy and seriously dampen enthusiasm. The trick is to keep employees involved. When actively engaged, they generate more ideas and learn more quickly. Consider how some companies have turned business meetings into memorable events:

A new environment. Getting out of the office can be a great start to a productive meeting. According to a survey of communications professionals, nearly 90 percent of respondents said that the meeting’s setting influences creativity. Their top choice? Off-site retreat centers. The worst place to hold a meeting? The boss’s office.
Focus on fun. Games aren’t just for kids. One company began its three-day sales conference with a lip-sync contest. Within minutes, a bunch of indifferent employees turned into enthusiastic participants. Their enthusiasm carried over for the entire three days, making the meeting a great success.
Reverse roles. To teach its salespeople about the features of new products, one company had sales reps and manufacturers switch roles. Instead of being told about the new products, the salespeople examined the products hands-on, asked questions, gathered information, and then “introduced” the products to the manufacturers. They became such experts that many manufacturers ended up learning from them.

Think Like a Winner
Being a great leader requires more than business acumen and knowledge and faith in your fellow Ducks® — it requires a certain frame of mind. In his book, 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, corporate trainer Steve Chandler says that by thinking positively and productively, anyone can become a superachiever. Here’s more of Chandler’s advice:

Write your own agenda. Living by other people’s agendas, wants, and needs is neither motivating nor inspiring. If you want to be invigorated by your job, you need to live by your own agenda. Chandler writes, “Anytime I wake up in the morning and live because of what other people expect, I bring so little energy…to my work that it’s unlikely that I will succeed and enjoy life.”
Look at failure in a new light. Know the difference between failing to meet goals and feeling like a failure. No one is a failure as long as he or she strives to reach a goal. When something doesn’t go as planned, chalk it up as a learning experience. Look at it as a chance to be creative and try a new approach.
Think positive. Some people become demotivated by focusing on all the things that might go wrong. Before meeting with a client or prospect, look on the bright side, says Chandler. Ask yourself, “What is the best thing that could happen in this meeting?”

Passionate or Work-Addicted?
Working hard has its benefits, but when does a hard worker become a workaholic? “Workaholism,” a popular term adopted by work/life experts, can lead to illness, strained relationships, exhaustion, and a depleted spiritual life. Yet many workers today are going beyond the call of duty for a number of reasons. They fear layoffs, competition, and simply not keeping up. As a result, businesses are seeing the impact of workaholism on their employees and employees’ families. Workaholics often transfer their fanatical work practices to the home, expecting more and more from their spouses and children, with little tolerance for mistakes. How do you know if you’ve crossed the line into work addiction? Take this quiz:

How do you feel after work? (A) fulfilled, proud, and positive. (B) drained and exhausted.
Which style describes you? (A) I work hard but I also maintain good relationships, take care of my health, and enjoy hobbies. (B) I can’t tear myself away from work. Even when sick or tired, I keep at it.
Do you enjoy your time off? (A) Yes, I use my time off to relax and spend time with loved ones. (B) No, I feel deprived and cannot relax when away from work.
Do you experience a broad range of emotions? (A) Yes, my life includes ups and downs—anger, sadness, disappointment, happiness, and many more emotions. (B) No, my work numbs me to other emotions,
and I am out of touch with my feelings.
Results: You’ve probably guessed that answering A to most of the questions is a healthy, well-balanced response. If you found yourself answering B, you may be a workaholic. Like other diseases of addiction, workaholism requires professional help.