choice Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Dennis E. Gilbert

07
Mar 18
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Do You Choose Motivation or Does It Just Happen?

Tags : attitude choice friday monday motivation

Some will tell you that people can’t be motivated. That they either are, or are not, intrinsically motivated. If you have a choice, will you choose motivation?

Many people hate Monday, they perk up on Wednesday, and the rest of the week they are looking forward to Friday. There is even a popular restaurant chain to embrace the concept.

Expectations

Do you get what you expect? Are you motivated by your surroundings? What about the workplace atmosphere or climate, does that have anything to do with it?

Should we go another step, what about marketing and advertising, do they impact motivation?

The answer to all of these questions is easy, yes. We are impacted by our surroundings, our expectations, and what we may discover is the norm for our current situation. No, it isn’t always everybody, but it is likely the majority.

What Plays a Role

Is the traditional college student more motivated than the non-traditional student?

Are you more motivated during your first week of your job as compared to week fifty?

Do more people find success at a public fitness center as compared to their home gym workout routine?

Certainly, there are exceptions to all of these scenarios, but you likely see the point. Surroundings, atmosphere, and expectations all play a role.

About Choice

Imagine if on Friday you had to pry yourself away from your workplace, and on Monday you couldn’t wait to get started again? Imagine if you took that energy seriously, applied it and shared it. Would things change?

We can probably all think of times when we’ve been more motivated and times when we’ve been less motivated.

Choose Motivation

What you get and what you deliver has much to do with your expectations. When you choose motivation you not only make a difference for yourself, you make a difference for others.

Motivation gives you something to be generous with, your attitude.

– DEG

Originally posted on March 7, 2018, last updated on May 29, 2019.

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

15
Feb 18
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Paycheck Only Employees and Other Cultural Blunders

Tags : choice emotion leadership paycheck

Clients often tell me, “We have paycheck only employees.” Their statement is often a cry for help. Does the available workforce, societal trends, or the culture of the organization create this situation, perhaps it is all three, and many other factors.

Facts and Myths

Certainly, there are challenges with the workforce demographics in many areas. This is not a myth it is a fact. Societal trends, certainly, yes, they also condition much of the attitude and temperament about employment.

What about the organization, is it possible that the organizational culture also affects or has responsibility for the creation of this so-called paycheck only employee?

Find What You Seek

Sometimes we find exactly what we seek. Perhaps a parent cautioned you back in the day, “Don’t go looking for trouble.” Did you listen? Most or at least many probably did. They tried hard to steer clear of what appeared to be potential trouble.

What does your organization seek? Does the help wanted ad focus on money or the job?

This doesn’t mean the amount of verbiage committed to describing the organization or the job; it means what is the attraction point and the culture? What are you advertising? Are you looking for paycheck only employees?

Driven By Emotion

People assess the environment by what they feel. Certainly, many authoritarian environments have executives urging people to remove the emotion, but emotion still guides many of the choices.

The unemotional executive probably doesn’t drive a nice car or live in a nice place, with nice things. Nice things are an emotional choice. Perhaps fulfilling some practical needs, but often also expensive. They are beyond need, they are about a feeling and are driven by emotion.

People are driven (or not) by emotion. What are the cultural indicators in your organization? When your organization offers a job, what is the selling point? Is it money? Is it about a career, a stepping stone, or just fulfilling a need?

The employee who only wants money and the organization that only offers to fulfill that need are sometimes a perfect match. The people are there for a paycheck. Caring on the other hand, that is emotional, it is also optional. You’ll expect higher turnover, you’ll get it.

Paycheck Only Employees

When the environment feels like the organization doesn’t truly care about the employee, the employee really doesn’t really care about the organization.

Advertise what you seek, be what you advertise. Deliver on the promise.

You’ll find what you are looking for, everything else is only about the paycheck.

– DEG

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

10
Jan 18
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Do You Choose Choice Or Not Have One?

Tags : career choice comfort habits safety

Have you ever felt like you didn’t have a choice? Often the truth is that you have to choose choice.

Habits control much of what happens throughout our day.

When we are under stress or pressure, we often will default to what feels natural, safe, or puts up a wall.

No Choice

People often suggest that they did it because they had no choice.

Sometimes it feels as though life happens to us. Yes things break. Yes, circumstances or situations may be beyond our control. Sometimes life doesn’t cooperate. However, much of what happens next depends on choice.

It feels safer to place the blame on circumstances, situations, or other people.

I’m not applying for that job because I don’t have the degree.

That networking event isn’t for me. I won’t know anyone there.

I don’t know how to do that, but no one recognizes my true skills.

We often imagine we are blocked at every twist, every turn. Our imagination tells us that there are obstacles, hurdles, or gaps that we can’t possibly navigate or bridge. Those are often the easy choices, not the same as no choice.

Possibilities often exist except we don’t see them. We choose not to see them because we are convinced that they are too difficult or too risky. In other cases, we may become trained that a failure means it is over, we won’t go there again.

It is the boy turned down for the dance, the runaway bride or groom, or the interview without a job offer.

The easier choice, the safe one, is to put up a wall, suggest you know the outcome, or simply claim that there was no choice.

Choose Choice

Habits often link us to safety and comfort. Following a habit is not the same as not having a choice.

Will you choose choice? Do you have a choice?

Following the easy choice doesn’t mean that there are no other options.

– DEG

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

10
Feb 17
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Leadership By Choice, Making The Decision To Lead

Tags : choice commitment leadership purpose

Leadership by choice, have you made the decision?

You’ll always find that there is much to be said about leadership. There are methods, models and best practices, but people seldom pause long enough to recognize that leadership only happens when someone decides.

Recently I wrote about why leadership matters and contained in that article were 25 questions each touching a factor relevant for leadership success. The truth is it could have been 50 questions, or more. One question that is seldom addressed is, “Have you made the choice to lead?”

Anytime we seek change, whether it is a personal, professional, or some combination of the two, it will only happen when we decide. Sometimes people believe that they want to change, but they aren’t hungry enough to see it through.

Making the decision to lead isn’t always the same as making the commitment. First you have to make the conscious choice, and then you have to be hungry enough to continue the pursuit.

Leadership by Choice

When you believe you’re ready to make the choice and commitment you might want to ask yourself a few important questions.

Why do you want to lead? Can you answer this question? If not, you can make the choice, but the commitment might be lacking. Understanding why you want to lead will guide the answers to the questions you’ll ask when you think it might be time to quit.
What is the purpose? What are you leading and why is it important? Wilderness survival is based on need, but many business cases for creating purpose aren’t that simple. People will work hard for a purpose that they believe in, you’ll need purpose.
Why should people follow? Clarity in purpose and direction will help inspire a following, but also critical will be the credibility, dependability, and reliability of believing the pursuit is worthwhile and achievable. Followers believe.

Success in leadership is leadership by choice. Someone making the decision for you will most likely not create the desire for success that is necessary to endure the journey.

Have you decided? Is it your time to lead?

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

03
Feb 17
2

Comfort Zone, Leave it by Choice

Tags : choice comfort zone motivation

Chances are good that you’ve already been told that you need to leave your comfort zone to really achieve your highest potential. Do you think people are motivated to leave their comfort zone?

Perhaps different things motivate people, and perhaps different people are motivated by different things.

Consider that you might:

Put an appointment on your calendar to block a section of time for special work.
Place a small white board on the wall of your office for notes about important projects or strategies.
Set an alarm on your phone to make sure you get up, arrive on time, or do something you might forget about.

Some people consider those to be reminders but others might suggest they are motivation. Some would argue that comfort connects with easy, no need for a reminder, and no special need for a motivator. Yet in other cases some people believe that motivation is very simple, it just comes naturally.

Are you motivated to break free from your comfort zone?

Comfort Zone

The real story is that your comfort zone is about choice. There is a difference about leaving by choice or being pushed until you’re uncomfortable. Some might suggest they find comfort in the uncomfortable.

Consider that people who interact with no filter might get it, or they might not. Perhaps discomfort makes them feel alive, excited and motivated. If they don’t feel it, surprise, they’re going to shake things up.

Day in and day out most people operate within their comfort zone. They might have goals to reach beyond it and strive for more, or a boss or coach might try to push them to reach for more.

Can you be pushed out of your comfort zone?

Motivated by Push

A deadline, a doctor’s appointment, or the fear of a dental cavity might push people to work longer hours, get in better shape, or brush their teeth.

Fear is a motivator but it pushes from behind or from the side. It lacks the most essential motivation element which is inspiration. Inspiration draws you in, pulls you along, and makes continuing much easier. It’s more comfortable.

In the workplace you can push someone out of their comfort zone, but the end result might only be discomfort, no growth, a few steps back, or just a bunch of missed deadlines and expensive work.

Pulled by Purpose

Smile for the customer, sell the product, or glue the parts together. None of those are about pull, only about push.

People are inspired by purpose.

Pulled by purpose might exist when what we do makes customers happy. When we offer a product or service that solves a difficult problem, or when we combine our talents with our special process and create something that changes lives.

Inspired people are motivated people, they’re pulled (or compelled) to do more, be more, and achieve more.

They choose their zone. Label it comfort, or label it discomfort, they’re pulled because they feel it.

It’s their purpose.

They’ll do their best, on purpose, by choice.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

03
May 16
-

Are You Focused?

Tags : choice focus

When you are trying your best, working your hardest, and determined to achieve your goals you are focused. The opposite of focus may be distraction. Staying focused or distracted is really about your choice.

When we lose the sale, come up short on the goal, or miss the deadline we can either focus on those shortcomings or focus on the next attempt.

The funny part is that when we are focusing on the lost sale someone else is already getting the next one.

If we are thinking about coming up short on the goal we are losing ground to the person still pursuing it, and while we tell our friend about the missed deadline time is still moving and we’re falling farther behind.

When you are distracted from your focus you often become focused on the distraction.

Sometimes the hardest part about achieving your success is dealing with the choices you make.

Stay focused.

– DEG

Originally posted on May 3, 2016, last updated on November 27, 2018.

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

05
Apr 16
2

Leadership Marathon

Tags : choice leadership marathon purpose

Step into the bowels of any workplace culture and you may find plenty of people seemingly armed with information ready to argue, complain, and describe the prominence of disrespect. We live in an information age, some argue information overload, but it is not the power of information itself that creates leadership, it is how that information is used. That makes leadership beyond most anything else, about choice.

Leadership is not about a position, a title, or a rite of passage. Leadership is a combination of innovation, presence, and purpose and when connected with a group of people we create a following, a culture, and (through organized people) an organization.

When likeminded people unite to follow a cause, a theory, or paradigm it will be the organization of the group that aspires to collaborate as a unit, by choice not force, that ultimately propels the group forward. Today most organized groups are sprinting, not waiting, standing, or walking. The pace of change and the need for speed is united in a movement metaphorically observed as a marathon. Make a choice, choose to lead, become the organization.

Run the marathon.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker, and coach that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is the author of the newly released book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Newer posts→

Tag Archives: choice

Mar 18

-

Expectations

What Plays a Role

About Choice

Choose Motivation

Feb 18

-

Facts and Myths

Find What You Seek

Driven By Emotion

Paycheck Only Employees

Jan 18

-

No Choice

Choose Choice

Feb 17

-

Leadership by Choice

Feb 17

Comfort Zone

Motivated by Push

Pulled by Purpose

May 16

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Apr 16

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