Are you sure you know your greatest strengths?
This should be easy: Name your top three or so greatest strengths. Got ’em? Are you sure? Are you really sure? Most people think they know the standout strengths they bring to the workplace. But the truth is, most people never get a full and accurate accounting – and many people go through life never knowing the best of what they bring to the table. Why? Because we’re too close to ourselves to be objective. Because we can be too humble. Because we might be a tad cynical. Because our strengths may have morphed into habits that we now take for granted. The reasons are many and varied. So try something different. Ask three or so co-workers what they see as your strengths. You don’t need some special meeting for this. Keep it informal and just ask. You’ll be pleasantly surprised and thoroughly informed by their answers. Will they think your inquiry is strange? Sure they will, at first. But within five minutes, they’ll be asking you to tell them their strengths. By Tom Terez • Contact Follow...
Read MoreFor workplace nirvana, add in the five C’s
A friend of mine contends that great jobs boil down to three things: praise, perks, and pay. The more you get, the better things are. It’s an appealingly simple formula — but it’s woefully incomplete. I’ve spent years exploring what matters most to people at work, and I know that praise, perks, and pay are important. The degree of importance varies from person to person, but it’s nice to get that external validation every now and then. Plus, there are bills to be paid. But there’s much more to the “great jobs” equation. Let’s call these additional factors the five C’s. One of them is job content. As management guru Peter Drucker used to say, if you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do. As much as possible, jobs should be designed so people can use their talents and strengths while seeing real results. Unfortunately, many people are told exactly how to do their jobs, with little if any leeway. This takes us to the second factor: choice. When people can make their own choices and decisions to shape how they do their work, their engagement and enjoyment go way up. The third and fourth C’s are related: collaboration and community. When people can freely team up and help each other as the workday unfolds, it’s like getting additional brainpower. Over time, collaboration turns into community. Both factors affirm that we are human beings, not human doings. The social aspects of work are a big deal. The fifth C might be the most important of all: caring. In great workplaces, people care about their customers. Co-workers care about each other. Bosses care about the people they manage, and vice versa. When people truly care, they show concern and strive to help others succeed, even when the people who benefit are not their close friends. Don’t get me wrong, the three P’s are essential: praise (let’s call it genuine appreciation), perks, and pay. So are the five C’s: content, choice, collaboration, community, and caring. Add them up and you get workplace nirvana. It’s that simple — and that challenging. By Tom Terez •...
Read MoreAre your strengths turning on you?
Day after day, Bill sticks to his work routine like few people can. Co-workers tease him for his same-time arrival and departure each day, but they mean it as a compliment. They’re awed by his ability to do the same job over and over with little comment, no complaints, and consistently high quality. Says a co-worker: “The guy’s a machine.” This is good, right? To a point. It’s easy to love the solid work ethic, predictable performance, and steady productivity. But too much self-enforced routine can move the mind to autopilot and render a person’s creative powers pretty much useless. That positive predictability can become a groove that turns into a rut that keeps Bill from ever seeing new ways of doing things that could produce better results. Call it too much of a good thing. When a strength is overused and used exclusively, it can become a liability. Look around and you’ll see plenty of examples. That skillful analyst who revels in data and spreadsheets? She brings objectivity to the decision-making process, which is great. But she often gets stuck in an endless loop of over-analysis. She seeks data and only data for every decision — even for decisions that call for experience, intuition, and anecdotal information. That creative type who’s always coming up with new ideas? He’s energy personified, and his presence adds spark to every meeting. That’s fantastic. But with his creativity running full tilt all the time, he zooms past the part where you’re supposed to focus on just one idea, develop it in detail, and get it going. The ideas keep coming, but nothing gains traction. Responsible Robert? He ends up taking on so much work that he can’t do any of it well. Organized Olivia? She’s so organized that she’s one file folder away from being a control freak. Empathetic Edward? He spends so much time listening to people and their problems that he’s worn out. What about your greatest strengths? Are you using one of them so constantly and exclusively that you’ve taken it to its counterproductive extreme? If the answer is yes, here’s great news: As soon as you ease back on that one overused strength, you’ll give all of your other strengths more room to step forward and go to work. By Tom Terez •...
Read MoreThe 10 Commandments of a Happy Work Life
1. Thou shalt honor thyself Your brain can process 100 trillion instructions per second while using the equivalent of just 12 watts of power. Your heart beats 100,000 times per day, carrying your blood some 12,000 miles. You’re able to imagine, create, communicate, and love. Take time to be in awe of yourself. 2. Thou shalt be true to thyself Only one person has your portfolio of experience, know-how, skills, and style. You’re in charge of putting it to work without compromise. If you need inspiration, consider Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., and Thomas Edison. These greats (and many others) enriched the world by making the most of their differences. 3. Thou shalt speak up When you have a good idea, share it. When you have a question, ask it. When your help is needed, offer it. When you envision a better approach, put it in spoken word. Your voice needs to be heard. 4. Thou shalt strive to simplify Take a fresh look at your schedule, and eliminate activities that seems important but aren’t. An action is either mission-driven or mere motion. Keep the former, ditch the latter. 5. Thou shalt assume the best Few people wake up and declare: “I’m going to make this a horrible day for myself and my co-workers.” Most people want good days in which they use their know-how, exercise their creativity, and make a positive contribution. Assume and expect the best, and you’ll see more of it all around you. 6. Thou shalt fix processes, not people It’s tempting to blame that missed deadline or fouled-up project on a nearby colleague. But the fact is, problems almost always occur because of process issues, not people. So cut your co-workers some slack — and enlist their help in analyzing and improving how things get done in your workplace. 7. Thou shalt serve a greater purpose Henry David Thoreau put it well: “It is not enough to be busy — so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” What is the mission that gives meaning to all of your work-related busyness? 8. Thou shalt be interested Want to be interesting? Then be interested — in people, processes, clients, customers, competitors, and more. Open your eyes wider. Be more curious. Seek new challenges. Start more conversations. Make a point of asking questions rather than making statements. Turn your work world,...
Read MoreAre you ready to go from benchwarmer to champion?
Follow the lead of quarterback Cardale Jones of the Ohio State Buckeyes: Stand tall. Believe in yourself. Know your playbook. And upgrade from working hard to working harder. That’s when you’ll be ready to win big.
Read MoreHere’s your secret to more success at work
If you’ve achieved any kind of success at work — and we know you have! — you can easily achieve more. All it takes is a thoughtful look back and an action-oriented look forward. First, pick out one of your bigger successes from the work you’ve done in your current workplace. It doesn’t have to be some Nobel Prize equivalent — just an accomplishment that rises high on your list of “very well done.” Here are some wide-ranging examples to get you thinking: You had a breakthrough conversation with your manager. You assembled the perfect group for a given assignment. You came up with an idea and carried it through to fruition. You gave colleagues a new way to understand an old situation. You made connections with people in other work units. You helped a customer in a major way. You took it upon yourself to attend training and use new skills. Once you have a specific success in mind, think it through with these three prompts: What was the very first thing you did to set in motion the chain of events that led to your accomplishment? Even though other people might have been involved, focus on yourself and what you did. Fill in the blank: I set things in motion by _____. That first step is crucial. But what is one other thing you did that seemed essential to your success? Fill in the blank: Another key action on my part is that I _____. What are you glad that you didn’t do in this situation? Fill in the blank: If I had _____, I never would have achieved this success. Now step back and realize this: You played the key role in making this success happen. Other people might have helped, and the planets might have lined up in helpful ways, but your actions made the difference. As for the specifics of what you did, think about your fill-in-the-blank responses. You had a past-tense mindset for this exercise, but turn forward now and look ahead. What do your answers tell you about how you should go about your work in the future? Fill in the blank: I will achieve more success in the future as long as I _____. Your answer is some of the best advice you’ll ever get. Put it to work starting now. By Tom Terez •...
Read MoreA Walmart reminder: Use your strengths
The moment I heard that rich baritone, I had to know: Who is this guy? His was a voice like no other: rich, resonant, confident, congenial. The words sounded like warm syrup as they rolled from the store entrance to the checkout area where I was waiting in line. He poured forth every time a shopper arrived or departed: “Welcome to Walmart. So glad you’re here.” “Thank you for shopping at Walmart. Hope you have a fantastic day. Please come back, we’d love to see you again.” When I reached the checkout clerk, I asked about the vocally gifted greeter. The woman chuckled. “Oh, he’s my husband,” she said. “He does have a nice voice, and let me tell you, I hear it all the time.” She knew him well so I had to ask: “Has he thought about doing voice-over work for radio or TV? What about being a DJ or a sports announcer or something like that? He could record audiobooks. He could do commercials. He could do all sorts of things. The man has a gift!” She gave me the smile of someone who had heard it a hundred times. “When you leave,” she said, “tell him what you just told me.” I did, and he responded with a gracious thank-you. “I hear that all the time,” he said. “Well, what about it?” I asked. “Have you contacted any radio or TV stations or whoever needs great voices? Do you have a demo tape?” He looked surprised. “Who, me?” “Absolutely,” I said. “You have a real gift.” As we shook hands and said goodbye, he softened his voice to say one last thing: “You really think so?” Who knows what it was: excessive humility, skepticism, self-doubt, a lack of self-awareness. Something was keeping him from fully appreciating and exercising his extraordinary strength. He’s using it well at Walmart, of course, but could he use it there and beyond? The truth is, each of us has a great strength that remains largely untapped. It might not announce itself so frequently or publicly, but it’s there. You know it is. What’s yours? By Tom Terez •...
Read More10 secrets from the ultimate servant leader
If you want to achieve great results at work and everywhere else, then walk in the bootsteps of this legendary leader.
Read MoreHow to spring load your own improvement efforts
Want to kick some old habits and take on better ways of thinking, doing, and being? Then use the FROM-TO-HOW process to turn good intentions into positive action once and for all.
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