Inspire II

Earlier this week we looked at what each of us can do to spark a fire of inspiration within ourselves. Now let’s look outward. How can I be an inspiration to those around me? Are the people that work for you or with you lacking energy? Are they disinterested in their work? There is a new term floating around called “quiet quitting”. Quiet quitters are people not going above and beyond at work and just meeting their job description. Recent Gallop research indicated that "Quiet quitters" make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce.

At one time we saw something in these team members that made us believe they were capable of great things. For whatever reason, their fire has dimmed. As much as we believe in our people, we must also believe in our own ability to inspire those around us. I said in my blog from earlier this week that this must begin as an inside job. However, there is also a lot we can do to positively impact those around us.

Let’s look at just a few:

1. RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS OF EMPLOYEE UNHAPPINESS

Creating raving fan employees must be a top priority of any business owner who wants to inspire workplace participation and growth. Bad employee morale can cost the company money and negatively affect the company culture. Before asking how to inspire others, ask yourself if you see any of the following signs of employee disengagement or unhappiness.

HIGH TURNOVER

If many employees are leaving, that’s a big sign they’re unhappy. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s all about pay or benefits. Conduct exit interviews and really listen to what employees are saying.

DROP IN PRODUCTIVITY

If their heart is no longer in their work, you’ll be able to tell. Inspired employees get their work done and excitedly ask for more.

LACK OF PARTICIPATION

Not everyone is into company happy hours and activities, but if your employees seem more disengaged than usual, it’s a sign to dig deeper.

2. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Remember that a business is only as strong as the psychology of its leader. Could the problem be you? This is a difficult question to ask yourself, but if you really want to gauge if you know how to inspire people, you need to ask yourself if your team thinks – better yet, knows – you understand how to inspire employees to do their best. If the answer is “no,” you’re in the right place for learning these skills.

3. USE THE POWER OF Influence

Now that you know how to inspire employees to do their best, you can use that as leverage to subtly change their behavior. This is one skill that distinguishes great leaders from mediocre ones. The reasoning is straightforward: Since every person on Earth is influenced by his or her thoughts, feelings and behaviors, true leaders make skillful use of those “pressure points,” or leverage, to influence others’ behaviors.

4. PRACTICE COMMUNICATION SKILLS

At its root, organizing your business around how to inspire others boils down to communication. That is, in order to master how to inspire people, you must first understand what already inspires them. Understanding what makes people tick is one of the most fundamental components of both empathy and effective communication.

5. MASTER EMPATHY

The rules of public speaking apply to running a business. Instead of assuming you know what your audience already knows and wants, utilize empathy and deep listening to discover your audience’s wants and needs (even when they are your employees).

6. FOCUS ON RELATIONSHIPS

As self-sufficient as the Navy SEALS are, even they depend on relationships with other governmental counterparts to be successful. Instead of forcing, coercing or shaming someone into a certain behavior, be like the SEALS and focus on building quality relationships. Without a solid foundation of trust, it’s impossible for someone you want to inspire to feel comfortable around you.

I hope that you find these tips useful as you work TO INSPIRE your team.

Remember it all begins with you.

Yours in Christ,

dan

Inspire

Can we really inspire others in our workplace or is this totally an inside job? I think this is a fair question. The next pillar of culture at Mid South is To Inspire. Our mission is To Inspire our patients to work beyond what they think they can and achieve more than they could ever imagine. But, do we do that for each other? They people that work for us. The people that work with us.

I think we have to ask ourselves several questions:

1. Do I need to be inspired?

2. Am I inspiring?

I think all of us are always in one of these two places, needing to be inspired or inspiring others. In this blog I want to address both. If we are honest with ourselves, we have to ask the question of where we are and how did we get here? Why am I needing to be inspired at this point in my career? What’s missing that needs to be replaced and what steps to I need to take to get there? This is very much an inside job first. Others can help flame the fire within us, but it is our job to light that fire.

So, let’s look at a few ways we can do that:

1. Change Your Environment

Get out of the house and go somewhere new. A new environment can spark inspiration by giving you a new way of looking at things.

2. Learn Something New

Get outside the boundaries of your own knowledge to learn something new. Learn ten words in a foreign language, research the music of 17th century Europe or pick up a star chart and learn about our universe.

3. Get Back to Nature

Take some time out in nature and appreciate its amazing beauty. Go for a hike through the bush, climb a mountain or simply have a picnic by the pond in your local park.

4. Research What Others are Doing in Your Field

Keep a notebook with you to jot down ideas whenever they strike. These ideas might not seem groundbreaking at the time, but they might serve as inspiration at a later date.

5. Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine. Try something you’ve never done before that pushes you out of your comfort zone. By breaking the routine of your daily life, you’ll encourage the flow of ideas and increase motivation.

Later this week, I will follow-up with my second post on how we can grow from lighting our own fire to stoking the flames of others as well.

The Power of a Listening Ear

Active listening means as the name suggests, actively listening. That is fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively hearing the message of the speaker. Active listening involves listening with all the senses. These include our non-verbals like our posture, our facial expressions, and our eye contact. This also involves eliminating distractions so that we can focus on the message.

Listening is not something that just happens (that’s hearing), listening is an active process in which a conscious decision is made to listen and understand the message of the speaker. Listeners should remain neutral and non-judgmental, this means trying not to take sides or form opinions, especially early in conversations. Active listening is also about patience. Listeners should not be tempted to jump in with questions or comments every time there is a few seconds of silence. Active listening involves giving the other person time to explore their thoughts and feelings, they should, therefore, be given adequate time for that.

So, we have established the value of improving listening to improve communications. Let’s look at some practical ways we can demonstrate that we are listening and understanding:

Step 1: Face the speaker and maintain eye contact.

Talking to someone while they scan the room, study a computer screen, or gaze out the window is like trying to hit a moving target. How much of the person's divided attention you are actually getting? Fifty percent? Five percent? If the person were your child you might demand, "Look at me when I'm talking to you," but that's not the sort of thing we say to a lover, friend, or colleague.

Step 2: Be attentive, but relaxed.

Now that you've made eye contact, relax. You don't have to stare fixedly at the other person. You can look away now and then and carry on like a normal person. The important thing is to be attentive.

Step 3: Keep an open mind.

Listen without judging the other person or mentally criticizing the things she tells you. If what she says alarms you, go ahead and feel alarmed, but don't say to yourself, "Well, that was a stupid move." As soon as you indulge in judgmental bemusements, you've compromised your effectiveness as a listener.

Step 4: Listen to the words and try to picture what the speaker is saying.

Allow your mind to create a mental model of the information being communicated. Whether a literal picture or an arrangement of abstract concepts, your brain will do the necessary work if you stay focused, with your senses fully alert. When listening for long stretches, concentrate on, and remember, keywords and phrases.

Step 5: Don't interrupt and don't impose your "solutions."

Children used to be taught that it was rude to interrupt. I'm not sure that message is getting across anymore. Certainly, the opposite is being modeled on the majority of talk shows and reality programs, where loud, aggressive, in-your-face behavior is condoned, if not encouraged.

Now make the commitment. Commit to becoming an active listener. Practice the skills and watch relationships be transformed.