Did this happen to you or your organization?  It was projected that 84% of workers wanted to quit their jobs and find new opportunities in 2011. 

 "This finding is more about employee dissatisfaction and discontent than projected turnover," said Douglas Matthews, president of career-management agency Right Management, which conducted the poll. "Clearly, if the job market picks up a lot next year many employees are going to take advantage of it, and organizations stand to lose some of their top contributors," Matthews said. "So this is a wake-up call to management."

Even if dissatisfied employees do not leave an organization, they are a liability.  Dissatisfied workers tend to complain more than carry out their share of the workload.  They may be highly skilled at their trade or provide excellent customer service, but how they interact and work (or don't) with other employees, can create an unhealthy, negative environment.  An unhealthy, negative environment ripples through an organization and affects the performance of others, which ultimately cuts the bottom line.

Questions to Ponder

Does your organization value, appreciate and advance multiculturalism and diversity?

Are different personalities, work and communication styles appreciated and respected?

Even during these times of "doing more with less", do you recommend solutions, take initiative or complete tasks before being asked?

When work is delegated, do you embrace or resist requests?

What is the tone around your workplace or home?

Four Areas to Measure

How much do you produce and respond to challenges?
 
How do you communicate with others and show a positive attitude?
 
How do you respond to change and conflict?

How do you respond to rules and how accurate is your work?

A well-balanced, high-performance team empowers and develops all four areas within each individual.  If each area is not developed, employees will not excel; moreover, frustration, mistakes and turnover will occur.  Everyone has the potential to grow in each area if they are willing to learn new skills and are held accountable for applying them.  All of these areas require changing behaviors that can be evolved with effective goal setting, feedback and training.

Leadership is about directing, empowering and bringing change.  Leaders create a vision and develop strategies.  Management is about planning, controlling and reacting.  Managers produce plans and complete tasks.  Leaders produce changes in behavior.  Leaders are not born; they are made. You can develop the skills and ability to lead others, yourself and the directions you want your work and life to take.  You must want to be a leader to be a leader.  If you want to be a leader, you must create your vision and define how you expect yourself and your team to perform.

While there are extenuating circumstances that can keep you from working your ideal job or living the life you always dreamed, you do have choices about how you react to any person or situation.  Teams can be empowered.  Jobs can be fulfilling.  Lives can be happy.  You will need to be both a leader and a manager of your team, your career and your life.  It's up to you.  Take the lead!

Imagine It, Believe It, Become It,

Nancy

Looking Forward!