work ethic Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

11
Sep 20
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Workplace Interpretations Drive Outcomes

Tags : culture excitement happiness stress work ethic

What are your workplace interpretations? Everyone has some. Have you considered how they drive outcomes?

It’s 2020, and we’re in the middle of a U.S. presidential election. There are lots of opinions, concerns, and hopes about what will happen next.

One person watches a democratic commercial and gets angry, a different person watches the same commercial and gets excited.

Republican commentary comes on the news. Someone will say it’s all lies, someone else will cheer for more.

And that is just connected to the election. There is more.

An on-line shopper observes a back-ordered item and believes the item has sold so well, it’s out-of-stock, what a great product and a great company. Another shopper a thousand miles away sees the same item but believes the company is lousy because they can’t build the product.

A restaurant franchise owner sees cars backing up on the street to enter the drive-through window of her establishment. She gets really excited. A passer-by sees an accident waiting to happen and believes the owner is making too much money.

The difference is in the interpretation.

Those interpretations will also condition what happens next.

Does it happen in the workplace?

Absolutely.

Workplace Interpretations

People come to work every day. They show up, follow a routine, take a deep breath and dive in. Some may drag around for a while. Slow to get started, hesitant to give their energy.

One person will see a batch of new customer orders and be excited about the opportunity. Yet, another person will see the batch of orders as the worst part of their day.

One person will see the meeting with the boss as worrisome and stressful. Another believes it is a great opportunity.

Someone will watch the clock eager to get away from work at the end of the shift. Another worries that there is not enough time in the shift to satisfy every customer.

You will interpret something today. You’ll be energized and excited, or you’ll be stressed out and maybe a little angry.

You’re part of the culture and will help create what happens next.

Which part would you rather be?

-DEG

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.

07
Aug 20
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New Job Demands and Going All Out

Tags : career commitment job demands work ethic

Someone may tell you that you have to put yourself all in, in order to go all out. They’re probably correct. Do you have new job demands? Can you go all out?

Being committed to high performance in the workplace is not always easy. There are plenty of distractions and plenty of naysayers.

That shouldn’t stop you!

Whether you are starting a new career, a new job, or have moved to a new employer, going all out matters. It even matters if nothing is really new, maybe it is just a new you.

People often lack the commitment because they are uncertain. Perhaps they wonder if they have the knowledge, skills, and abilities. They may also be uncertain if they can sustain such a high level of commitment.

Additionally, sometimes, they’re troubled by the likability factor. Will other people get angry or am I stepping on someone’s toes?

Being committed is an interesting position. You sometimes don’t realize that you’ve already decided, you just need to carry out your plan.

Commitment is a Choice

When I was a teenager, rolling skating and dancing were a popular group attraction. If you went to the rink, you were going to skate. If you went to the dance, you were expected to dance.

Only not everyone did.

It could feel kind of personal. People are watching. What if I fall on my skates or my body moves weird when I try to dance?

If you went to the rink or to the dance, you should have already decided. Unless you decided that you were going, but you were not going to participate. So why show up?

Teenagers may have many reasons. Yet, in real world adult workplace situations does just showing up count? Of course not.

When you make the decision to show up for your job, your work, or career it’s time to dance. The commitment should have already occurred so why not?

New Job Demands

Life is full of distractions. Life has risks.

There is a risk to commitment and often a feeling of uncertainty. What you sometimes fail to realize is that you’ve already decided. The moment you decided to show up was the moment you decided to go all out.

What is riskier?

For your job, riskier might be only going half-in. You do something so that there is motion, but your commitment is all wrong.

As a result, you do inferior work. You miss targets and deadlines, or your output is not the quality or quantity expected. You cost more than you are worth.

What holds more risk? Going all out or only half-in?

You didn’t think you were going to show up and only watch, did you?

-DEG

14
Mar 18
-

Emotional Labor Strength and Doing Whatever It Takes

Tags : emotional labor leadership strength work ethic

If you were self-assessing, would you indicate that you have emotional labor strength, or is it really one of your weaknesses? Do you procrastinate about your workload, to-do list, or visiting your in-laws?

Are you able to jump to attention at the slightest whimper from your boss? Perhaps you would rather put off that task until you really feel like doing it. Are you really committed to doing whatever it takes, or only when it fits your personal agenda?

Is Easy Better?

A traditional or baby boomer boss may suggest people are lazy. They may suggest that the younger half of the workforce will avoid the tough stuff, or avoid things that annoy them.

Instead of making the follow-up call, they’ll send an email. Instead of responding to an email or voice mail they’ll do nothing. Spending time with the customer, well, that is out too. It is all just too hard.

In customer service circles a lack of emotional labor strength may be mislabeled as a lack of caring. Is it really a lack of caring or is it just too disruptive to the flow of doing little or nothing.

Caring will cost. It costs in hard resources like money and people, and it costs in emotional labor. When people are required to think, be patient, have empathy, be farsighted, encouraging, and do whatever it takes, we may discover who really has emotional labor strength.

Emotional Labor Strength

Waiting until the last minute is not a skill. Broken promises are not someone else’s fault.

Effort should be at one hundred percent and should never be considered as scalable based on the rate of pay.

Doing whatever it takes is what emotional labor strength is often about.

Laziness, procrastination, or putting it off forever isn’t strength, it is a weakness.

Regardless of whether it is about customer-service skills, getting along with co-workers, being flexible, adaptable, staying late, or coming in early, your level of emotional labor strength is what sets you apart.

If you’re wondering about individual work ethic, you’ve either found it, or not.

– 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 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.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

13
Oct 15
-

Paint

Tags : motivation persistence work ethic

Everyday people go off to work, they get in their car, get on a train, a bus, or even an airplane. They work hard, for some it is a labor of love, for others merely a source of income. People find happiness, disappointment, let downs, and sometimes breakdowns. As years go by people sometimes wonder what life is all about, in their minds they count their blessings, replay successes and sometimes their failures.

So often I hear people talk about what they want to do, what they haven’t done, or what they could have done. Often people talk with me about their book, a book they haven’t written but a book they want to write. I hear about barriers, roadblocks, and time. Some will proclaim they don’t want to write it unless they obtain a top publisher, unless they are confident it can be a best seller, or not until their life settles down.

Many people will never paint a picture, and certainly not the Mona Lisa, but they still admire and respect art. Things in life probably shouldn’t be measured by the value that others place on them, they should be measured by the value you place on them.

Count successes, do your best work, write a book, or paint.

– 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+

Tag Archives: work ethic

Sep 20

-

Workplace Interpretations Drive Outcomes

Workplace Interpretations

Aug 20

-

New Job Demands and Going All Out

Commitment is a Choice

New Job Demands

Mar 18

-

Emotional Labor Strength and Doing Whatever It Takes

Is Easy Better?

Emotional Labor Strength

Oct 15

-

Paint

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