ACCOUNTABILITY

We are almost to the end of our second tour through our 8 Pillars of Culture. This week, I want to revisit ACCOUNTABILITY. There is a question on our Employee Engagement survey that asks does your supervisor hold people accountable? It is a great question, but this week I want to look at this pillar from a different perspective. All of us want other people to be held accountable. My question this week is what if we are the other person? You can rest assured that while we are thinking about someone else not doing what they are supposed to be doing, someone else is thinking that about us. I think that is one of the reasons that self-awareness is so important to our personal growth.

So, I have another question for each of us as we constantly self-assess. Am I accountable? Holding yourself accountable means engaging in self-discipline to complete both old and new goals. When you hold yourself accountable, you resolve to live and work in a more manageable and measurable way. This allows you to accomplish tasks more efficiently and effectively than you would otherwise be able to with a more procrastination-prone approach. I want to suggest7 tips that will help each of us be more personally accountable:

1. Ask for feedback from some others - Not everyone will be honest enough to give us feedback that will help you grow. We need to search out those friends who will.

2. Get an accountability partner - I have spiritual accountability partners who ask me questions about where I am with my Bible reading and quiet time and where I am with my daily walk. These people are invaluable to my personal and spiritual growth.

3. Practice self-care - Exercise, eat better and get good sleep. These are things that we have some control over and will allow us to be more effective and accountable.

4. Recognize when you're procrastinating. This is a great self-awareness tool that will keep us proactive rather than reactive. As Steven Covey says this is a quadrant II activity that will help keep us out of crisis mode.

5. Reward yourself - Know what motivates you and reward yourself just like you do others. It is essential to recognize that you deserve and need this.

6. Set both short-term and long-term goals - Setting and keeping goals is like making and keeping promises to ourselves. The more we do this the more confidence we build and the better we feel.

7. Stay organized – This is another proactive activity. I feel better when I am organized. It keeps me from missing meetings, assignments, and deadlines which is good for me and others. Find a good tool, whether it’s a good planner, software, or a to-do list, find what works for you and commit to it.

I always want to be the person that no one else has to hold accountable. Join me and let’s create a culture of faith, recognition, encouragement, and ACCOUNTABILITY at Mid South Rehab Services!

Have a great weekend,

dan

Building a Culture of Recognition

Over the last several weeks I have written articles on the importance of inspiring and encouraging others. Our sixth pillar: TO RECOGNIZE may seem the same as the last two pillars. In actuality, I see it as an extension of these two. I think recognition is a means of inspiring and encouraging and one way that we can build a culture of appreciation. I read in an article this week that 42% of American workers say they do not feel appreciated in their jobs. In our recent end-of-year surveys our team members' responses matched those results. Only sixty percent of our team members said they feel appreciated. We can all agree that the number needs to be much higher to create the culture we desire. One great way to create great culture is to build a culture of recognition.

What is a Culture of Recognition?

In a culture of recognition, employees know that their company values them and their contributions to the success of their organization. A culture of recognition builds trust and security, and employees are more motivated to continue doing great work. Recognition consistently emerges in studies on improving workplace culture and has proven to be a primary driver in engaging and motivating employees to do their best.

So, how do you build a culture of recognition?

1. Start at the top: Workplace culture needs to be modeled by all levels of leadership and needs full support to establish a true recognition culture.

2. Make the connection: Align recognition with your company’s strategies and core values. Employee recognition is most effective when it’s tied back to the behaviors that your organization values.

3. Make giving recognition easy: Recognition platforms, like Kudos, that are accessible to all employees via a web browser, a mobile app, or a kiosk make it easy for employees to give and receive recognition.

4. Don’t just focus on rewards: While rewards still hold value, recognition should always be the center of your program, with points and rewards secondary.

5. Be consistent: Keep your recognition program top-of-mind and encourage your leadership teams to embrace it. Giving recognition should become a habit within your organization (even recognizing the small things!).

Scripture tells us that ‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. I hope we feel the need to appreciate and recognize our team members at a heart level not just at a head level. Once we really feel real appreciation in our heart it will change our words and actions. Take some time today to really appreciate your team and then take a small step to share with them how much you value them. Remember recognition does not have to be expensive, just heartfelt and consistent to accomplish our goal of building a culture of recognition.

Yours in Christ,

dan

The Impact of the Exhortation

I have a friend who was the longtime pastor of Woodstock Baptist Church, in Woodstock Georgia. Johnny Hunt told me years ago that his spiritual gift was “exhortation”. As a new believer, I really didn’t know that meant he was an encourager. He felt his calling was to lift people up. I think we can all agree we need some people like this in our lives. The fifth pillar of our pillars of culture is:

TO ENCOURAGE. Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Inc. said, “Encouragement is one of the strategies that you can use to help your organization to stop people leaving, and then to keep them. The presence of encouragement and appreciation in the workplace has a demonstrably positive impact - and its absence can be as damaging as direct discouragement”.

Let’s look at a few great reasons to become professional encourages:

People want to feel important - Encouragement unlocks others' greatness. From time to time, we all need to be reminded how valuable we are, how much we have to offer, and that, if we keep doing that bit extra, we'll achieve the goal - and more.

Encouragement reinforces the right things - Encouragement solidifies and reinforces that "doing the right thing" - especially in difficult situations - is what matters most. Encouragement inspires people in tough times - Everyone gets disheartened from time to time - especially during times of change. At such times, encouragement can dissolve fear and anxiety. Encouragement builds employee loyalty - Encouragement demonstrates caring and, as people believe you care about them, they'll trust more and become more loyal to your leadership and to the organization. Encouragement is a low-cost benefit to workers with maximum results - It costs nothing to share a few uplifting words, ideas or insights, but the potential rewards are enormous. To this list, you could add that encouragement can help new workers to fit in. Being new to an organization or a team tends to be an anxious time for the worker - and, maybe, the rest of the team. Encouragement during on-boarding orientation or training can boost confidence. It can also allow team members to express concerns and ask questions - and this can help them to fit into the new team quicker and build strong bonds of loyalty. In this way, a few encouraging words can keep a worker motivated, loyal, committed, engaged, and save the considerable cost of having to recruit, select and train a replacement.

Benefits are always a source of concern for team members. So, let’s add a new benefit to our package. Be an encourager!! Let’s be the company that everyone wants to work for an no one wants to leave!

Have a great weekend!

dan