When done right, employee attitude, satisfaction and/or engagement surveys provide valuable information to the organization. Too often however, leaders do not take seriously the workplace barriers and emotional barriers identified by their employees. Corporate survey efforts become a way to appease employees or to follow industry standards, not to genuinely remove barriers by changing disruptive working conditions or improving the quality of life for their people.
Here is the simple truth: Employees are smart enough to tell the difference between those who mean what they do and those who do what they do not mean – and this is very apparent in the way people behave and interact with others in your workplace. No number of regular surveys can convince employees that their leaders care enough about them to pay attention to their problems.
In fact, far too often, employees receive attention only when their performance or behaviour causes a problem. The leader then comes to deliver a reprimand or discipline. This kind of attention is unwelcomed and unpleasant to both parties and it conditions employees to think that the only time they have contact with the boss or with management is when something goes wrong.
Paying attention to your people, the most valuable resource you have, should be done when everything is going great, in order to reinforce positive behaviours. One of the best ways to do this is to initiate a social initiative to reinforce positive behaviour in the workplace. Unfortunately, these initiatives often entail bringing in a motivational speaker or creating a one-day workshop, shortly after which, things go back to exactly how it was before the initiative.
In order to have lasting change that drives a positive strength-building workplace, you must first understand that human behaviour is in fact the physical manifestation of a person’s electro-magnetic neuro-chemical energy. In lay-man’s terms, it’s really all about that continuous and often subconscious negative mind-chatter at the individual level that must be adjusted in order for any kind of lasting change to occur. This is relatively new science and the majority of people do not know how to make that adjustment, or in most cases, how to even recognize negative energy that is so damaging to their physical, mental, social and emotional wellbeing. The skill of Positive Presence which lies within each and everyone of us, gives us the power to adjust and create our personal energy in a manner that will support lasting organizational change.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.