What You Do and How You Do it REALLY Matters
How would you behave if you were in charge of morale for your organization’s customers? It’s an important question because you ARE in fact, in charge.
I deliver workshops to a local Veteran’s Medical Center and I’ve been particularly interested in how the veterans are treated because my Dad was a Purple Heart veteran of World War II.
As I work with employees from a variety of departments, it has become increasingly clear that every person has a direct impact on the morale of their customers, the veterans. (One employee told me he considers each veteran to be his boss, which is absolutely the right attitude to have.)
If Housekeeping doesn’t do their jobs well, then the veterans come to a place where there is trash on the floor or coffee stains on tabletops. The message? You don’t matter enough for us to clean up.
If Payroll doesn’t get employees paid on time and accurately, this directly impacts the mood of employees and their interactions with the veterans.
If an employee in the hallway is asked a question by a veteran and responds with, “I don’t know,” and walks away without finding someone who does know, then the message is, “I’m more important than you; don’t bother me.”
Who are your organization’s customers and how do you make sure they are served well? Are you waiting for someone else to be in charge of morale?
In an organization that serves Veterans, the charter seems crystal clear. Of COURSE you would want to bring your “A” game to work. These customers are precious—they served and protected us—showing them the utmost respect when they need something is a way to say, “Thank you.”
But what about when it’s less clear; when the customer doesn’t seem so deserving? Why go the extra mile then? The answer is: be in charge of morale because it’s good for YOU.
The Law of Attraction dictates that you get more of what you focus on. When you are focused on bringing your “A” game to work, then you benefit in numerous ways:
• You get to be proud of your work and that kind of pride feels great;
• You sleep better at night knowing you’ve done your best;
• When you’re pleasant, (even if you’re faking it) you fool your brain into
thinking you’re in a good mood and it floods your system with ” feel good”
chemicals so that you actually are in a good mood!
• You attract people who match your mood;
• You will be given more opportunities;
• You will ultimately make more money;
• It spills over into your personal life. The more you perform well at work,
the better your overall mood is and everyone around you benefits (most
especially you!).
What you do and how you do it REALLY matters.
What you do matters to the end customer and to this end, all jobs are equally important. The surgeon couldn’t save lives if there weren’t someone to clean up before and after. The CEO couldn’t do her job without a staff to take care of the many facets of running an organization.
How you do it matters to you. Too often we wait for someone else to acknowledge us—to somehow bestow upon us self-esteem. A wise mentor once challenged me, “You want self-esteem? Then do something about which you can feel esteem.”
Now there’s an idea.
