Here's to a glass half full in 2010

I know it’s January 14, but you’re not already jaded about the new year, are you? You’re still happy to put the challenges of 2009 behind you, and are focused on a big and bold 2010, right?

I’m glad to hear that. And so is Terry Starbucker, the voice behind the blog, Ramblings from a Glass Half Full. A senior operations executive for a service business, Starbucker is committed to spreading “realistic optimism” through a philosophy he calls “Half-Fullism,” or to put it another way, “Dealing with the literal world in a favorable way.”

In his first-of-the-year post, Starbucker shares a New Year’s checklist of 10 things leaders can do in the coming year to make it great. If you're a leader at your company:

1. Don’t Dive in Head First – Take the time to review the year you just experienced, celebrating the victories and learning from the setbacks. Discuss these insights with your team now, before the new year kicks into high gear.

2. Study Up – How familiar are you with the details of your business or project plan for 2010? Absorb the full scope of what you plan to accomplish, so you’ll start the new year on solid footing.

3. Read Your Fine Print – Every leader’s strengths, left unchecked, can have a dark side (something Starbucker calls the “fine print”). For example, a hard-charging, assertive leader could have a tendency to become inpatient or steamroll over people. You must constantly self-correct to make sure you’re striking a healthy balance.

4. Put the Right Team on the Field – While you’re assessing your own strengths and weaknesses, review those of your team, too. Are there any unresolved issues from the previous year? Can you make changes now, before it gets too busy, that will improve everyone’s chance for success?

5. Keep Raising the Bar – In select areas, set higher targets than the year before. Even if a team experienced a “best ever” year, they can strive for better results the following year – and hit them.

6. Synthesize Goals – Reduce your business or project plan to four or five smaller pieces and communicate these goals through the organization. Talk up these goals heavily and be sure to keep everyone posted on their progress.

7. Calibrate Your Accountability Meter – Make sure your teammates know what is expected of them for the year; then, be prepared to lead using the full spectrum of accountability – encouraging and motivating them, but also taking appropriate action if they’re underperforming.

8. Clean Out Your Ears – In a non-stop, multi-tasking environment, this can be tricky, but it’s important to shut out the noise and listen - really listen - to what your teammates are sharing.

9. Give Feedback Early & Often – Even when everything is moving full-steam ahead, you need to pause periodically to give your teammates feedback - and make adjustments early in the process, when it’s easier.

10. Practice Patience, Tolerance & Engagement – Last, but certainly not least, it’s important to keep yourself in check and not become impatient, intolerant of criticism or adverse to conflict. Things won’t always go your way, and as a leader, you have to rise above it and stay calm, open-minded and understanding.

A new year, a new decade – what better time than now to take stock of what’s working and not working in your company – and challenging yourself to “lead” in a more positive, dynamic direction? With the right tools, training and mentoring, you can keep your glass half full and put the power of optimism to work for your business.

Here's to a glass half full in 2010

What if your employees were volunteers?

There are thousands of ideas out there on how to improve employee performance without having to spend a dime, but “sometimes incentive and motivation programs aren’t necessary.”

That’s the message from Paul Hebert at Incentive Intelligence, ironically a blog dedicated to aligning behaviors and goals through motivation, rewards and recognition.

Last week, Hebert proposed an experiment that any manager, supervisor and coworker can try, that simply involves asking yourself one question:

“What would you do different if everyone you relied on for your business success was a volunteer?”

Volunteers are tied to their work with passion, not pay. They’re able to walk out of an organization whenever they please because they’re working because they want to, not because they have to.

Looking at your employees as volunteers forces you to identify their passion and discover why they’re working at your organization. Whatever their passion or reason for working, managers should create a mission and set goals that are aligned with employees’ passion.

“Managing volunteers means valuing contribution and working to match desire to function within the team to achieve the stated mission. Managing volunteers isn't about directing effort as much as it is about allowing effort to find it's best path.”

Hebert suggests that every manager ask themselves - “What would I do different if all my staff could just walk out tomorrow?”

What if your employees were volunteers?

How losing can inspire motivation

As this year’s March Madness college basketball competition comes to a close and those lucky few employees collect their winnings from the office NCAA pool, some may be saddened to know they may have picked better brackets if they would have paid attention to a recent study.

A new study out of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania examined 6,000 college basketball teams and found that teams that were slightly behind their opponent at half-time were more likely to win the game.

Wharton professors Jonah Berger and Devin Pope who conducted the survey, titled “When Losing Leads to Winning,” suggest that their findings directly tie into the workplace and how we set employee performance goals.

The researchers compare employees to basketball players in that they both will show more motivation and perform better when they are close to, but still short of, achieving a goal.

"Take any situation where someone is so close to a goal that they can almost taste it," said Berger in a recent Human Resources Executive Online article. "The fact that they're almost there makes them work harder."

Similar to the idea of setting “whisker” goals, Berger recommends that managers set milestones that are within reach of employees’ efforts. While “stretch” goals may be effective in motivating employees when confidence is high, setting smaller goals can spark an increase in performance when times are tough and confidence is waning.

"A lot of tools are used in the workforce to motivate people, such as wages, bonuses, etc. While surely these things can have motivating effects, one should not underestimate the potential importance of psychological motivation as well. This paper shows that the psychological impact of being behind by a small amount can cause significant increases in performance," said Pope.

Whether it’s on the basketball court or in the workplace, the Wharton study shows that small goals have the power to motivate. Pair those small goals with positive employee recognition for their shining accomplishments and help employees get moving on the road to success.

How losing can inspire motivation

Achieve more with small goals?

The recession has been creating adverse effects across the business world, from a severe drop in sales to stressed-out employees. Right now, everyone seems to be feeling the pain.

Research shows that financial stress has a direct impact on employee performance and morale, landing many businesses in a state of immobility. Whether it’s from shock or stress, it’s difficult to get moving.

Companies across the country are searching for a stimulus that will cure the paralysis that has been plaguing employees and motivate them to move forward. Instead of overwhelming yourself and looking at it as one giant task, some experts suggest that baby steps are the best way to go.

Setting smaller goals is the secret to improving employee performance during tough times, as Dan Heath and Chip Heath explain in their Fast Company article, Set Smaller Goals: Get Bigger Results.

Dan and Chip believe that during times when we feel empowered, stretch goals are a great way to spark motivation. However, when we're feeling overwhelmed, stretch goals can cause immobility.

They recommend setting "whisker" goals, with targets that fall just slightly lower than average.

From the Fast Company article:

We need these more modest steps because they help us get past the "startup costs" -- the apprehension and fear -- that deter us from doing the tasks we hate.

Adversity calls for change, and change doesn't arrive via a miracle: It arrives via a kick start.

For most organizations, now is not the time to make major changes. Many are focused on working through the adversity in order to land safely on the other side.

Whisker goals could be the solution to kick starting any team that is stuck in a rut. It takes small steps to get the ball rolling.

Start a movement in your organization with small goals and keep that movement going with small recognition. By focusing on the small stuff, you may find that the big problems just don't seem so big anymore.

Do you think it’s possible to achieve more at work with small goals? How does your organization work to get employees motivated during difficult times?

For more information on goal setting and employee recognition, take a look at a few of these posts and HR Library articles:

• How to beat stress in the workplace
• Remodeling morale at Home Depot
• Build employee morale during good times and bad
• 7 low- to no-cost employee incentive ideas
• Raise the bar with effective performance management

Achieve more with small goals?