If you are a manager or supervise someone, can you describe your style? What are the results you want when you manage someone? Here are some things effective managers are looking for:

• Building trusting relationships with mutual respect.
• Creating an environment that selects for the behavior(s) you want.
• Using positive communication.
  
• Improving performance and productivity.
  

To accomplish these things and bring out the best in employees, you may need to:

• Have more patience.
  
• Ask more questions.
• Give more support and encouragement, less control.
  
• Spend time providing needed information —
  

– how what they do contributes to the success or failure of the company.

– new strategies the company is trying.

– the kind of thinking and behaving it will take to implement them.

Studies indicate that these management behaviors increase feelings of belonging and being valued because you are giving employees the  inner resources to be successful. As they develop their skills, they will be more motivated and increase their self-worth and confidence.

Action step: Identify the results you want. What would that look and sound like? Choose one or two ideas you can begin to do with your employee(s) today.

Coming soon: Learn how to be a positive force in your life and the life of others. Watch for an announcement about a free 3-call audio teleclass series I will be starting later this month.

To your success,

Maurine

• Productivity
• Profitability
• Creativity
• Happy customers.

Knowing what is expected also decreases accidents in the workplace.

People tend to act in ways that are consistent with others’ expectations of them. Many studies over the years in this area have arrived at the same conclusion. It is often referred to as the Pygmalion effect.

At work, knowing what is expected of you is more than your job description although that is a good start. It is a detailed understanding of how what you do fits in with what everyone else is suppose to do. This is important because as circumstances change, expectations change. It is like a great band in which each player listens to the other instruments as he or she plays his or her instrument. The more you pay attention to what is going on around you and do your part, the better the results will be.

The economic changes during the last year or two have created many changes in the work environment. Circumstances have changed. If this is true for you, be sure to get clear on how this has affected expectations for you at work and in your personal life. Be alert to what is going on around you and how you fit in with the current business strategy and culture.

If you supervise others, think about how you can apply this information in you management role. Give more support and provide needed information about how the business is doing. Let people know what they are doing that is working.

Comment below on how you help others know what is expected.

To your success,

Maurine

Negative emotions can happen to anyone at any time. When you get caught up in negative emotions, you will find it difficult to solve problems, think of solutions, or have the energy you need to change your situation. Obviously, if you get stuck in this position, you will not be productive.

Sometimes it is appropriate to let yourself feel the negative emotion for a brief period of time. The trick is being able to name the emotion so that you can release it. When you are able to release the emotion, you will find that you have energy to refocus on important things currently  going on in your life.

Here are some tips to help you acknowledge your negative feelings and then release them so that you can have the energy you need to think clearly and be successful:

• Identify and name what you are feeling.
• Identify what you are telling yourself about the problem or situation; this is what you believe about what is going on.
• How true is your belief on a 1 – 10 scale (10 being very true).
• If your belief is 6 or below,  you may be able to distract yourself by getting up and moving around.
• Tale a break. Feelings change more easily if you move your body by walking or exercising for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Change the environment if necessary.
• If your belief is 7 or higher, you need to ask yourself what the consequences are for having that belief – what the belief is costing you. You might ask yourself who you would be if you had a different belief.
• Ask yourself what evidence there is for and against having the belief.
• Ask yourself if there are other ways of thinking about the situation and/or why it happened. How would your best friend interpret it?
• Think about the best and worst case scenario and how likely it is for either one to happen.
• Ask yourself what other belief you might have that would be more empowering than your original belief.

At any time in using the above tips, you may begin to feel more energy. When that happens, you will be neutralizing the negative effect of your belief and negative feelings. You can continue the process until you actually begin to feel more energetic and ready to move forward in a meaningful direction.

Sometimes the above process is referred to as the Disputation Model of handling negative beliefs and emotions. This is because you dispute your original belief, using a questioning process with yourself to look at the situation from a different perspective.This process becomes easier if you practice it over time.

Try it yourself and let me know how it works for you.

To your success,

Maurine

Research studies involving Emotional Intelligence (EI) since the mid-nineties point to the following 7 facts:

1. EI is not set or innate; it can be learned. 
2. Need for EI increases with increased levels of responsibility.
3. Moods and emotions are contagious.
4. Up to 80% of life success will be determined by EI.
5. EI influences success in 4 areas of life: relationships, performance, healthy and quality of life. 
6. EI determines who excels in any given job.
7. EI is the basis for outstanding leadership.

Here are some things EI accomplishes:

• Motivates you to do your best.
• Strengthens trust to build  productive relationships.
• Builds resilience to perform under pressure.
• Increases confidence and courage to make good decisions.
• Builds strength to persevere through adversity – resilience.
• Clarifies your vision to create the future.

Until we know and understand ourselves, we have little hope of being our best, let alone living life to its full potential, enjoying true life satisfaction, or helping  others be their best. Improving EI helps people be more effective in their career and have a more fulfilling personal life.

Action Step: Once you know what your EI is in several areas, practice new behaviors in a supportive environment. Be open to honest feedback for your continued awareness and skill building.

To your success,

Maurine

At this time, there are about twenty-five thousand full-time and part-time certified coaches. Most of these coaches are in the following three areas:

1. Life coaching.
2. Business coaching.
3. Specialized coaching niches such as wellness.

About 250,000 people are receiving coaching services. The ICF report indicates that the top two reasons people look for a coach are self-esteem/self-confidence and work/life balance issues.

This is not too surprising as last year took a toll on the work force. Lay offs have hurt many people’s self-esteem and confidence. For many who are still working, the day is longer with more responsibility. This is creating overwhelming feelings, higher levels of stress and employee dissatisfaction, and little time for work/life balance.

Ninety percent of those who who wanted to improve self-esteem or self-confidence reported improvement when they were surveyed about the coaching services they received during 2009. In addition, over fifty percent of the business executives reported improvement in self-esteem and/or self-confidence.

The IF President, Karen Tweedie, summarized the benefits of coaching by saying: “Our research shows that those who work with a professional coach not only attain success in the goal areas which initially led them to seek a coach, but they find themselves enjoying positive changes in other areas of their life as well. Some of those areas were in relationships, wellness and other parts of their business or personal lives.”

It is good to know that working with a coach is helping many people accomplish things they would not have been able to do on their own. Research studies will be continuing to check on the effectiveness of coaching as well as improving the way coaching services are provided. 

If you are stuggling or wondering how you are to move forward this year with something important to you, consider signing up for my Private Strategy Meeting. This 30 minute meeting with a shorter follow-up meeting two weeks later lets you see for yourself how coaching can help you without having to make a long-term commitment. 

Click on the Resource Tab and scroll down to the Private Strategy Meeting for all of the details. If you have any questions, please comment below.

I hope you have a productive week.

To your success,

Maurine

Recent research points to several things that make us healthier. Some of these are things most of us know and try to do. For instance:

• Decrease stressful thoughts as much as possible.
• Decrease negative emotions that get you stuck.
• Increase self-control as often as you can.

In the June 15th issue of the journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, a key ingredient for being healthy and living a long life was to have a sense of purpose. The study indicated that this was true regardless of a person’s sex, age, education and race.

The study also suggested that when you are not setting goals and actively working toward them, your mortality risks increase. This also tends to be true if there are not aspects of your daily life that you enjoy.

You may be wondering what having a sense of purpose actually does for you.

Think about how you feel when you are clear about something you want to do. Having a clear sense of purpose helps make your life meaningful. You make sense out of the events happening in your life, learn from them, and choose additional behaviors and activites that continue to make your life fulfilling.

More research needs to be done to fully understand how having goals and a sense of purpose add to longevity.  At this time researchers suggest that when you have a higher purpose, your level of stress hormones decrease. Your heart health and your immune system also improve.

What gives your life purpose? What do you do daily that is meaningful? Can you name your top five values and know you will be doing somethings today that matches several of your values?

Action step: Think about how you would answer the above three questions. You will have more vitality and feel more fulfilled when you are clear about what gives your life purpose and meaning.

Comment below about how this key ingredient helps you achieve a life worth living.

To your success,

Maurine

As you think about your answer to that question, you may realize that there are different areas of your life that contribute to your feeling of satisfaction. Positive Psychology research has found that life satisfaction depends on doing well in at least one of the following six major areas of your life:

1. Relationships
2. Work
3. Health
4. Income
5. Spiritality and
6. Leisure

Some researchers believe it is important to be doing well in all of these areas for you to have a high level of Life Satisfaction. If you are curious about how satisfied you are with your life, you can go to http://www.authentichappiness.com and take the Life Satisfaction Inventory. There is no cost, and it only takes a few minutes of your time. Your score will reflect how you feel at the present time about how satisfied you are with your life.

If you are having trouble with one of more of the above areas in your life, it can negatively impact your thoughts and feelings about the other areas. Different cultures handle these feelings differently.

In the US, your level of satisfaction will depend on how important the area you are most satisfied with is to you. For instance, if your health is the most important area to you and you have good health, you will have a higher level of satisfaction. If your health is poor, it will lower your level of satisfaction.

It has also been found that life satisfaction tends to increase as you get older. This is especially true when you are meeting your goals and living a life that matches your values. You feel your life is meaningful.

Recent research reported by Wayne Jencke on the twenty-four character strengths identified by Peterson and Seligman (2004) indicates that life satisfaction is strongly associated with the following strengths: (VIA Character Strengths):

• zest/vitality/enthusiasm/engagement
• curiosity
• gratitude and
• optimism/hope 

This research indicates that whenever you can make choices in your life that will increase one or more of these areas, you will increase your satisfaction with life.

Action Step: If you want to increase your level of life satisfaction:

1. Target an important area in your life.
2. Find some things in that area to be grateful for.
3. Establish a goal for yourself in that area.
4. Set small action steps you can focus on.
5. Be hopeful about achieving your goal.
6. Be curious about what you can learn.

Notice how you feel about your life after a week of doing this. Let your good feelings expand to other areas of your life.

Let me know what questions you have about how to increase your satisfaction with life and how this works for you.

To your success,

Maurine

According to a summary of the results of a recently released survey, only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work. This is the lowest level ever recorded by the Conference Board research group in the 22 years of research about levels of job satisfaction. In 2008, 49 percent of the people surveyed reported satisfaction with their jobs.  This means there has been a 4 percent drop in satisfaction this last year.

The report finds employees younger than 25 with the lowest levels of satisfaction. About 64 percent of them were unhappy with their jobs. Younger workers seem to have fewer opportunitites now and lower wages.

The most satisfied employees were in the age range of 25 to 34. About 53 percent were unhappy with their job. Perhaps this group sees some opportunities for advancement as baby boomers begin to retire.

The Conference Board report found employee unhappiness for the following reasons:

• Fewer employees consider their jobs interesting.
• Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
• The soaring cost of health insurance has eroded employees’ pay checks.

Economists are worried that this dissatisfaction trend could decrease innovation and hurt America’s competitiveness and productivity.  It also could decrease employees willingness to share their knowledge and skills with each other. 

Some employees are just sitting this out and not engaging in what they are doing. Yet, we know from research on happiness that engagement is an important way to feel fulfilled and satisfied. I see many  people who are waiting for the economy to improve. When that happens, they plan to leave their job for something more interesting.

Downsizing takes a toll on morale. Emotions are contagious. This is an important time for companies and organizations to improve communication and be honest with people. Keeping the environment positive is important.

Empolyees are also responsible for determining what they should be doing to be the most engaged and productive at work. They can take steps to be realistic yet have a positive outlook in the work setting as they find things to be grateful for.

Fortunately, there are companies out there that are trying to do something about increasing their employees satisfaction with work. I hope you are lucky enough to be working for one of these companies. They see this as a time to offer training that would be meaningful to employees. They look for other ways to give incentives and build morale.

What do you think needs to be done to increase employees satisfaction and engagement? What path needs to be taken to make it happen?

Leave your comment below.

To your success,

Maurine

There are three things necessary before you can be fully motivated. You must decide to:

1. Be self-disciplined.
2. Focus on the long-term results you want.
3. Change any limiting beliefs about yourself or the goal.

When you are self-disciplined, you respect yourself which builds trust in yourself. When you trust yourself, you are more confident and less anxious about what you are doing. If things get difficult, you have the patience to persevere.

When you think about what you want, the question, “How do I get what I want?” is not helpful. This is a question about the process which is likely to slow you down. Instead, ask about the result you want to have. Focusing on the result clarifies what you need to do.

Motivation comes from your thoughts. Negative, self-doubting or undeserving thoughts are limiting. They must be removed because they drain energy and can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. You can only pursue what you think you deserve.

To be successful in staying motivated, follow your plan, and focus on the results or the benefits you want. Have encouraging thoughts when you feel your motivation weakening. You will find you are developing more motivation.

Contact me if you are interested in learning how to “achieve a life worth living.” Take steps to have a growth mindset to be more motivated.

Action step: Choose one area of your life and focus on a long-term result you want in that area. It may have to do with your health, a relationship, your career, or something personally meaningful to you. Look at the beliefs you have about yourself in regards to achieving the results you want. If any of them are negative, change them to statements that imply a growth mindset – you are learning to …..   Be self-disciplined in following the steps needed to reach your goal.

To your success,

Maurine