Letter from the CEO Greetings Momentum Subscribers,
At Karlin Sloan & Company we're lucky to be part of something that is changing the landscape of corporations everywhere. This Momentum is focused on THE STRENGTHS REVOLUTION - a new way of approaching organizational life.
Recent research in positive psychology, employee engagement, and peak performance is coming alive in organizations that embrace the idea that what we focus on expands, and if we focus on our strengths and our opportunities, we expand the best we have to offer.
We at KS&C are proud to be a part of the sea change in management and organizational effectiveness, and to help leaders worldwide to develop their "appreciative eye".
Karlin Sloan
CEO
Karlin Sloan & Company
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Quick Tips to Focus Your Organization on The Positive
Research shows that leaders who take a strengths-based approach
not only optimize performance, they create a more engaged workforce.
Engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, safer, and more
innovative. They also achieve nearly double the customer satisfaction scores and experience half the usual turnover rate.
The first step in assessing employee engagement? Conduct a simple employee survey. A good employee engagement survey includes questions about job satisfaction, clarity of
understanding of roles and goals, relationship with bosses, peers or
direct reports, sense of contribution, and understanding of the
vision/mission of the organization. Knowing your organization's engagement
scores should help to assess what actions can be taken to make your
organization more engaged, motivated, and loyal.
To keep your company focused and productive, remember that a 3:1 ratio of positive to negative "watercooler commentary" is a healthy balance.
When you hear complaints, ask for requests or for creative ideas. Complaining is a symptom of disempowerment or "victim-think". A good way to respond when you hear a complaint is to ask "What would you like to see? Is there a way for you/us to take action around that?"
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Leading with your Strengths
by Deborah Shea
According to a recent study conducted by CareerBuilder.com, four out of five (4/5) people are unhappy with the work that they do or the careers they have chosen. And of those, only one out of ten (1/10) say that they're in jobs that play to their strengths. That's a lot of very dissatisfied people dreading their Monday morning alarms!
As children, we were praised for making the honor roll, mastering adeptness in all subjects. Falling short in one area or another may have resulted in extra homework, tutoring or lost privileges all with the hope of regaining the status of being "well-rounded."
For many young adults choosing a college, major or first job is a daunting task, especially if there are other "influencers" in the midst, like parents, relatives or good-natured neighbors. These people might be well-intentioned, but they often don't know the young adult well enough to recommend the right path to suit his/her strengths. And to make matters worse, either does the young adult. (Note: Because I listened to others and didn't follow my own instincts, I spent two and a half years sweating out physics, bio-chemistry and organic chemistry before yelling uncle and switching majors!)
So, with a well-balanced education and diploma in hand, "it's off to work we go!"
Hopefully, we land with a company that offers training and provides opportunities for growth and advancement. And hopefully we'll connect with a boss who has our best interests at heart. But whether we're at the giving or receiving end of a performance review or 360-degree assessment, it's a challenge not to gravitate towards "areas in need of improvement." It's human nature. As Marcus Buckingham states, "we have a fascination with failure", focusing on what's wrong, rather than what's right. When it comes to strengths, the best players know how to capitalize on their talents, limiting their time on areas that don't produce the greatest results. Here are two examples.
Early in his career, Tiger Woods had a difficult time managing sand traps; it was the weakest part of his game. But rather than focus hours and hours on his sand shot, he spent more time developing his long swing. In the end, the perfection of his swing kept him out of the bunkers, and resulted in his being one of the most storied and talented golfers of all time. And as we can all testify, Tiger spends very little time in the sand!
Chris Everett was a classic back court tennis player, very rarely advancing to net. With the arrival of Martina Navratilova, the intensity of the game increased a thousand-fold. Although Martina's immense power, aggressiveness and agility at net made her a force to be reckoned with, Chris knew she couldn't compete head to head. "What separated me from the other players was my mental toughness", she said. She recognized that in addition to skill, speed and strength, mental toughness could make or break a match. Martina and Chris were great rivals through the years, each winning their fare share of titles and trophies. But they respected each other for their unique strengths, even though they possessed different strategies and demonstrated very disparate styles.
Whether in sports or the corporate environment, we need to be more accepting of ourselves, (and our limitations) celebrating the gifts that we have. Could you imagine if you increased the amount of time you spent on your strengths by just twenty percent (20%) a day? Wouldn't you feel happier? And more energized? What would happen if you provided outlets for your team to stretch in areas that highlighted their strengths? It's great to be aware of all aspects of ourselves, but it's more productive to manage around our weaknesses in order to focus more energy on what we do well. Knowing our strengths and playing to them not only makes us better, it makes everyone around us better. And for the companies, managers and employees who figure this out the possibilities are endless.
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Quotations
"I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism."
- Charles Schwab "We often feed the critic gourmet meals and starve the rest."
- Angeles Arrien
"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am,
then I can change."
-Carl Rogers
""The best strategy for building a competitive organization is to help individuals become more of who they are."
-Marcus Buckingham
"Success rarely 'shows up'...it is lured and attracted day by day by the right actions, thinking, and heart."
Doug Firebaugh
"We are well-trained in activating our critical eye; at finding problems to solve and seeing weaknesses that need addressing. We need to develop an additional way of seeing - our appreciative eye - that which looks for opportunities, strengths, and ways to expand what's working already." - Karlin Sloan
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2009 PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT
Jan 26 - Jan 29, 2009
Wharton Executive Education at the University of Pennsylvania Announces
Positive Leadership: Leveraging Strengths to Optimize Performance
Based on the latest research and proven best practices, Positive Leadership: Leveraging Strengths to Optimize Performance prepares you to:
Leverage your leadership strengths to deliver the highest level of performance.
Gain skills and strategies for maximizing productivity, engagement, and retention.
Develop an action plan for leveraging individual, team, and organizational strengths.
The program helps leaders create hotbeds of vitality and
productivity within their organization - precisely the skills that
identify leaders for rapid advancement.
JOSEPH RYAN, PhD
Academic Director
KARLIN SLOAN, MA
Adjunct Faculty
FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE.
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