Do your employees say, “I have to go to work”? Or do they say, “I can’t wait to go to work”?

I know you think many employees will always be down about or disinterested in work. But consider this. What if your employees actually loved what they did for work? Wouldn’t their energy, creativity and performance be better?

Most companies are stuck in an outdated perspective that work is a necessary evil; it is only something you do to make money. But the great performers, those that Seth Godin speaks about in his book Linchpin, are those who know themselves well enough to identify roles that allow them to do what they are good at and passionate about. The result? They love work, find great personal value in it and consistently outperform others.

So managers, it is your responsibility to hire people who are a good “fit” – employees who meet today’s new definition of performance:
o They are good at doing what the job requires (it matches their brain hardwiring – their talents and intrinsic strengths), and
o They like doing it (it appeals to them).

Any job can be better completed by someone who likes what he does. A customer service employee who loves to work with people connects so much better with customers than someone who is not interested in connection or relationships. An accounting employee who loves details, reporting and analysis (and yes, there are these people out there) is so much more effective, productive and efficient than someone who would prefer to be around people all day. Fit matters.

Maybe there are some people who will always hate work. Well, let those people work for other companies. For your team, find people who are good at what the job requires and like doing it. Think “fit.” Then you’ll have employees who actually say, “I can’t wait to get to work.”