Best regards,
Jay Forte

Please forward this to someone who will benefit from it and contact me to help you reactivate the performance power of your people.

Your EQ – your emotional intelligence (your ability to know yourself, manage yourself and get along with others) accounts for 40 – 60% of your career success. Very important.

Today’s workplace is a service-based (relationship) workplace. Since employees are paid to think through their responses to customers, and they control their minds, managers must now engage and inspire employees to activate their performance. Today’s managers must be able to listen, hear, watch and connect – they must be relationship builders, connectors and communicators.

To be a relationship builder requires strong EQ – a clear knowledge of yourself and how to successfully relate to others. This enables a manager to better connect with and understand employees – to know their talents, values and interests to put them in the right jobs, motivate them and activate their performance.

To improve your EQ:
1. Become more aware or your responses, reactions and emotions. Noticing how you react helps you assess its effectiveness and ineffectiveness.
2. Manage your emotions to improve your ability to listen, respond and successfully react with others.
3. Watch the behaviors of others; understand their moods and communication method to improve how you connect with them. Learn to listen so people will talk, and talk so people will listen.

Smarts – defined today – relate more to your ability to know yourself and to connect successfully with others rather than just what you know. Though some people are naturally better at “connection” and EQ, studies support all of us can improve. Improving your EQ has a direct impact on the quality of your work and life relationships, the quality of your work and the quality of your life.

Organizations that actively use their networks of employees, vendors and customers to constantly gather and assess information, are better informed, more nimble and more responsive. Organizations that share meaningful information about objectives, initiatives, problems, challenges and opportunities more actively engage employees to participate in a recurring value discussion.

To eliminate your “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach:
1. Regularly involve employees in discussions about the organization, its challenges, opportunities, strategy and vision.
2. Create an intranet or electronic location in which you post critical performance information so all employees are informed with accurate information.
3. Stay close to your customers and closer to your employees; regularly survey each about what they see, hear, think and imagine. Use this information to be better informed in the management of the organization.

Organizations with open and clear communications process information more easily and effectively. Create your “ask and tell” policy to benefit from today’s connections, networks and varied perspectives. Employees and customers have information – you need it.

For more information, help and tools to activate the performance power of your people, click on the “For Managers” and/or the “Hunt for Opportunities” sections on www.LiveFiredUp.com.See my Power Performance blog on www.Bizmore.com for more practical performance information.

This is due partly to a carryover from the industrial age. Working on machines, employees were not always excited and passionate about what they did. Management included watching for slackers. Then, the language used to correct the behavior focused on the negative. That approach is now ineffective and negatively impacts employee performance and loyalty.

Today, employees must feel supported and connected in the workplace. And for the holdouts who think this is coddling employees, review the studies that support the direct correlation between (bottom line) results and employee engagement (contentment and happiness in the workplace). Part of this happiness comes from your communication with employees.

Here are some of the recurring negative statements used. Consider rephrasing them to make the negative positive.

Negative: You never have any ideas to make things better.
Positive: I need you to come up with two ways to improve _____________.

Negative: You are so disorganized.
Positive: Organizing your workstation will help you find things more quickly.

Negative: You can never seem to get to work on time.
Positive: Being on time each morning is important to me and to customers.

Negative or positive. Disengaged or engaged. Productive or unproductive. How you start the conversation determines how employees end it. Be positive. It drives engagement, loyalty and results.

Most people don’t believe that it is possible to love your job – to love what you do and to be passionate about doing it. Most feel that work is how you make the money to have the life you want. But in today’s world the right job is one that plays to your strengths, activates your passions, allows for your best performance and adds great value to your life. Finding the right job is not complicated but it does require you to take the time to know your talents, strengths, passions and interests. There is no reason for you to hate your job; with a little direction, you can learn to define and hired into your dream job. Now is the time to find the right job and a job you love.

Though there are great many more people looking for jobs in today’s economy, great companies are always hiring the best talent. Understand that if you are right for the job (you have the talents and the passion to do the job) then you are the best talent. By knowing what you are great at and what activates your passions, you identify roles and jobs that need what you do best – this makes you very competitive. This is what gives you the confidence to apply for jobs in which you know you will make a great difference. This confidence comes from being great at what the job needs and passionate about doing it. This is what great companies are always looking for.

Those who have found their “right” jobs have committed the time to learn their talents and passions. They know what they are great at and have committed to working in areas that activate their passions because it activates their best performance.

Today, passion is a key performance motivator. The more passionate you are about what you do, the greater your performance, the quicker you learn, the more connected you feel to the work, and the greater impact you provide. You can see that the right job now must be based on your talents and your passions, as it allows you to progress to your greatest performance.

Self-awareness is critical in today’s emotional workplace. It is critical that you take the time to understand how you think, what you are great at and what you love to do. Each of our brains is unique – hardwired to respond in very particular ways. This is the reason that a salesman and an accountant would rarely like to change jobs. Each of their brains processes information in a particular way – one more social and one more analytical. The right job for one is not the right job for the other. So it is critical for our success that we know ourselves well enough to know which jobs are the right fit – and they will always be those jobs or roles that play to our strengths and activate our passions.

To help you identify the “right” job, follow these seven steps:

1. List what you are great at. (Intellectual connection on the grid image). Take a talent assessment if you need help or simply list what you are naturally great at. Notice this said “great” not “good” as the focus must be on things that you are the best at to be the most competitive. Don’t be humble. Be accurate and be honest.
2. List what you are passionate about. (Emotional connection on the grid image). Passion drives energy; the more you involve your passions in your job, the more engaged and excited you will be in your role. This is the most significant component of performance. Identify what you love to do. You may see this play out in your hobbies and interests.
3. List what will make you feel successful in your role. (Success connection on the grid image). Will it be to progress to management, work a flexible schedule, work from home, have a certain impact, work with a certain type of customers, people or products, etc? Be clear in your definition of what success is from your perspective.
4. Review what you listed from areas 1, 2 and 3 above and identify where any of the items listed intersect. In other words, what are you great at, passionate about and meets your definition of success? This intersection indicates the areas of your greatest performance fit. This is critical information needed to identify your dream job – your “right” job.
5. What careers, roles or jobs need what you are great at, passionate about and meet your definition of success? These are opportunities that play to your strengths and activate your passions. These opportunities will allow you to be the most connected and most engaged. This will encourage your greatest energy, performance and impact. Create a list of your “Right” jobs, roles or careers. Consider everything that meets your criteria. You may find that the best job for you does not yet exist and if created would add great value to an organization. Don’t be afraid to invent your ideal job. Just be sure to identify its value.
6. Apply only for jobs that meet your criteria. Highlight your “fit” on the face of your resume. Use a talent-based resume – one that highlights your talents (what you are great at) and then presents how you have used your talents in other jobs. This helps a hiring manager easily and accurately assess your job fit. Since the job also activates your passion, applying for the job is now exciting, empowering and engaging. Applying for jobs that activate your passions encourages your best job application, resume and cover letter. This is your moment to show your fit and passion. Don’t miss this opportunity – this is where you get their attention.
7. Go into your interview with great confidence. You know the talents needed in the job match your talents. You know you love the nature of the work as it appeals to your passions. You have used these talents in other roles so you can easily show how they look to others. You have everything going for you. You know you are a good fit – and good fit is exactly what the hiring manager is looking for. Be confident. Don’t over prepare. Talk candidly, honestly and openly about your performance, your talents, how you fit and what value you can provide. This is how to stand out and get hired.

When you focus on “fit” – how you are the right person for the job – you show that you understand yourself, have defined roles that play to your strengths and passions and have applied for jobs that allow you to create the greatest impact. This process gives you a competitive advantage. You now stand out against applying for jobs. Not only are you good at what the job needs done but you are emotionally or passionately connected to doing it. The thought of it gets you fired up and excited to show up for work. And at work, you are happy to be there, doing what you do best and making a significant impact.

Today, job fit matters. You are unique; how you think, what you are naturally good at (talents) and what activates your passions now influences your effectiveness in the workplace. Play to your strengths. The best performers are those who love what they do. You deserve a job that needs our passionate performance. So follow these seven steps to work strong and live stronger. And managers – insist that who you hire be well matched to the talents needed in the job. This improves performance and connection.

Check out “Stand Out and Get Hired” to determine your intellectual connection, and learn to apply for the right job.

The rumblings in the HR world are that as the economy starts to improve, many employees will jump ship. Many employees have put up with bad workplaces, out of touch managers and unreasonable work expectations because of today’s economic challenges. Many managers have used the tough economy to raise the expectations, change the benefits and reduce the rapport. And soon, when things improve, these employees will revolt. And when they do, they will exit in significant waves, searching for organizations that cared for, trusted and valued their employees in down times. And with the power of instant communication and social networks, employees are already taking note of which organizations show up on the naughty and nice lists.

Here are the five reasons why when the economy improves, your employees will leave you:
1. You constantly told them they were lucky to have a job and made them feel desperate and not in control of their lives. You constantly reminded them of the number of out of work employees and how tough their situations are. Remind them they have no control and that they are lucky to be working and your employees will leave you.
2. You added more work to each role because some roles were eliminated. Instead of being fair about the workload with changes to compensation, time off or a promise to make things right in a better economy, you took advantage of the situation and forced the extra work on your staff (and reminded them they were lucky to have the job). Not only does this overwork your employees, but it interrupts the critical work/life balance needed to allow employees to feel successful both at work and at home. Make the workload unfair without any attempt to balance it and your employees will leave you.
3. You told your employees how things were going to be instead of presenting the tough situations and asking for their input to solve them. Employees were excluded from difficult news, or given difficult news with little time to react or respond. Successful organizations are based on open, honest and timely communication with employees; not only does this keep them informed and aware, it sets them up to participate in the challenges and opportunities of the organization. Keep them in the dark and refuse to allow for discussion and your employees will leave you.
4. You became more focused on results at the expense of the rapport and relationships you had with your people. Employees require constant contact; they require a real relationship with their managers. Managers who spend time away from their people disconnect from their people. Make your employees feel like a cog or a disposable part of the process and they will leave you.
5. You became so aware of the down times that you forgot to celebrate and make some “up times.” All employees know how critical the workplace and economy had become; it is everywhere in the news. Organizations that did nothing but worry, fret and disconnect, missed an opportunity to show their employees the best opportunities in any economy happen when the outlook is optimistic. Optimism is a choice. Organizations that find ways to be upbeat about things worth celebrating create higher performing and engaging workplaces. They weather the challenges better, becoming more successful for their approach. Make your workplace dismal and a downer and your people will leave you.

It is your choice how to handle an economic downturn. You can let the news take you down, and then take it out on your employees; or, you can see that your employees are also affected. You can share information, deal with their fears and frustrations openly and honestly. You can share information about necessary cuts and solicit ideas to help respond in ways that have the least impact the employees and their performance. You can be sensitive to how much work a person can do in a day and build a plan to get the work done and care for the health and safety of the employees. You can choose to create a powerful, upbeat and optimistic approach to the workplace – tough times don’t mean you can’t have fun and love your jobs. You can stay more closely connected to your people, ensuring that they have what they need by building a stronger community in and out of work. You can constantly remind them that they are lucky to have a job and there are hundreds of others waiting to take their jobs if they slip up. Seems almost a return to the early industrial age. But be aware, a revolution is brewing.

So, for the employees reading this, print a copy and leave it on your manager’s desk. Let them know that some of what they do is not inspiring your loyalty. And for managers reading this, remember, your people are your profits – in good times or in bad. Organizations that respect, care for and value their employees, win their loyalty. Making it through the day – average. Making it through the day and getting them excited to come back and do it again tomorrow – priceless. It is your choice how you manage.

Attracting, hiring and retaining high performing employees are the responsibility of today’s managers. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all jobs – of any employee will do in any job. Today, employees’ performance is based on their job fit. Today’s employees want to work in high performing cultures; they want to work in roles that match their talents, interests and values. They want a strong and professional relationship with their managers. And when this happens, they perform and stay. And today, you need the best performers.