WorkPuzzle

Breathing Life into a Tired Business-Part 2

Have you figured out what "dying city" I was referring to in my blog earlier this week?  If you guessed Grand Rapids, Michigan, you're right!  Newsweek (later republished in The Daily Beast) chose Grand Rapids (often referred to as "Bland Rapids") for this dubious honor among other cities such as Detroit, New Orleans, and Cleveland.

While such negative reporting is often brushed off as insignificant or unimportant, a 22-year old in Grand Rapids took it very personally.  Was his hometown really as bad as the media was reporting?  He didn't think so...  

Free-lance author, Stephen Kloosterman tells the story of Rob Bliss, an Internet Coordinator for a local TV station, who decided to pull together over 4,000 individuals from the community to paint a different picture of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Their picture of Grand Rapids is one where a diverse group of indivuduals, while appearing to be quite ordinary, prove to be very interesting.  Each of these individuals make an important contribution to the community.  These contributions add up to something that the third party observer might call odd or eclectic, but definetly not "dead."  There is energy and life in Grand Rapids--outsiders are just not aware of it.

To communicate this story to these disbelieving outsiders, Rob decided to develop a lip-dub video.  A lib-dub video is a low-budget production where a  stream of indivuduals are shot in one continuous take as they are lip-synching a song.  For his video, he decided to use Don McLean's 1971 song "American Pie."

The result..a viral internet success receiving over 4 million views on YouTube.  After the video started to gain traction, it got another siginificant boost when film critic, Roger Ebert, called it "the greatest music ever made."  This is amazing commentary for a place that was supposed to be dead!  Take a look for yourself and see what you think:

While the video was a huge success, Rob didn't stop there.  He went on to help Grand Rapids organize the world's largest pillow fight and construct the world's longest water slide.  The common thread...he has as knack for helping a bunch of "ordinary people" realize that they have something special and significant when they work together.

What is the lesson for your company or team in all of this?  I believe there are several:

1. Don't listen to the national critics.  If Rob would have just focused on what the national media told him, his creativity would have never taken root.  Yes, the real estate industry market is depressed in many areas, but what is the reality on your team?  Make the good things that are happening right in front of you your focus.
2. People love to see others working together.  This is the genius of what Rob discovered.  Are there opportunities in your community where your company (or just your team) can be seen working together?  Last summer in the Seattle market, Starbucks coordinated an event where their employees all pitched in and cleaned up the morning after the 4th of July celebration at Gasworks Park in downtown Seattle.  The local media noticed and highlighted their efforts in various news venues.  This is exactly the type of press you want to receive.
3. Don't think you need a big budget.  None of the ideas presented in this discussion required a large budget.  How much money does it take to pick up trash or start a pillow fight?  Not much.  There are lots of low-budget ideas out there--you just need to find them.

You can't run a business or a team unless you have a sense of purpose, excitment and energy.  People will not be drawn to or stay with an organization that does not have this critical component. 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Breathing Life Into a Tired Business

As I talk with owners and managers in different parts of the country, I’ve noticed a sense of fatigue among those who are continuing to work hard to make their organizations and teams successful.  This is especially true for those who spend a lot of their time recruiting.

As the housing market continues to be in turmoil in many parts of the country, it is becoming increasingly difficult to convince people that working in the real estate industry is full of hope and promise.  A recruiting manager’s will to persevere can start to wear thin and before you know it, a sense of malaise can even begin to infiltrate your team.

This type of despair is deadly.  If the leader of a team is not legitimately excited about the prospects for the future, it is nearly impossible to keep this attitude from poisoning the recruiting process.   

In consulting with owners, often we see wide differences between the recruiting results of the various offices within a given company.  I recently reviewed the results of one company where an individual office converted nearly 40% of their interviews into hires, while a second office in the same group only converted 3% (in this case, 2 hires out of 70 interviews) of their interviews into hires!  I believe it is safe to say that the second hiring manager is not painting a picture of the future that his/her candidates are buying.

Can this be fixed?  It can, but it has to be addressed from the inside out.  In essence, leaders need to instigate actions that will legitimately increase the excitement, energy, and hope for the future within their own teams.  Once you’re truly enthusiastic about what is going on in your environment, the energy and excitement will then naturally flow into the recruiting process.

While this sounds overwhelming, it may not be a hard as you think.  In our next discussion, I’ll share a case study about a city in the Midwest that was experiencing the same sense of despair that many of you are feeling.  This city was recently (January 2011) named one of the ten “dying cities” in America, yet over the last nine months, their prospects have significantly changed.  

How?  Through the efforts of two young professionals (one 22 years old, and one 29 years old) who recognized that some creativity and the coordinated efforts of many “ordinary” people can truly breathe life into almost any tired organization...     

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Vulnerability and Leadership

My previous post addressed the far reaching negative impact of rudeness on a culture's performance and creativity.  In contrast, today I'd like to discuss an alternative to that type of leadership...the vulnerable leader.

People want to be led by real people.  We respond best to leaders who don't have all the answers, who admit mistakes, and who are willing to apologize when appropriate.  The following excerpt, written by John Baldoni, expresses this idea very well:

"No one aspires to leadership to reveal vulnerability.  In some ways  this may be the antithesis of our expectation that a leader remain always in control.  We want our leaders to be strong as well as bold; we don’t like to see them weak; we don’t want them to be humbled.  But at the same time, we need them to show humility.

Showing humility is an acknowledgment that you are first and foremost human, capable of doing good things but also aware that you have your shortcomings.  Yes, dealing with those failings is a sign of vulnerability, but doing so reveals courage rather than cowardice.  Aspiring to self-perfection is a fool’s errand; admitting to falling short and resolving to do your best is a sign of strength.

There is another aspect to vulnerability; it has mass appeal.  The leader who is willing to admit he or she does not have all of the answers but still tries, is one that seems more believable than someone who pretends to know it all.  It has been said many times that dictators are those who have all the answers.  Leaders by contrast have answers but are smart enough to understand what they know and what they do not know."

Finding that delicate balance between confidence and vulnerability is a life-long balancing act.  But, if you make it a personal challenge, it's worth the effort...

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below. 

How Rudeness Impacts Performance

You probably have concluded by now that Ben and I share a strong pet peeve regarding the practice of rudeness and arrogance, especially concerning managers' attitudes and behaviors toward new agent candidates.  Like an abusive individual who is dating, an arrogant manager might attract a few desperate, insecure partners, but they're guaranteed to miss the cream of the crop.

Furthermore, new evidence suggests that rudeness impacts even more than successful hiring:

In three experimental studies, the simple act of being a witness to rudeness displayed by a peer or an authority figure toward someone, significantly reduced the observer's performance in routine tasks, as well as creative tasks.  In addition to this, rudeness appeared to be contagious.  The observer became less civil to others.

So why does rudeness persist?  Why do we allow people, especially managers, who impact so many, get away with it and set the contagious behavior in the office?  My hypothesis is that when the economy was booming, some arrogant-prone people attributed the success of their office to themselves, rather than the profound amount and frequency of money changing hands.  And, like an abusive spouse, people became so attached to these people that everyone just accepted their behavior.  Some of these people may never revert back to a spirit of humility and kindness to others, while some will hopefully change.

A few years ago, I had the unfortunate experience of witnessing this phenomenon first hand, while I watched the performance of my son's high school varsity basketball team over a period of three years.  No one doubted the coach's knowledge and strategy when it came to basketball, and everyone was aware that he had inherited some excellent players and had the opportunity to do very well.  But, the coach was a bully.  Not to everyone...just to the players who weren't the stars.  He clearly disrespected the players that he didn't see as huge contributors.  The result was a team who consistently underperformed.

This research confirms what all of the parents suspected:  The bullying of some players impacted the performance and creativity of all players.

The implications of these studies are too important to ignore.  It's not just the victims of rudeness who are impacted, rather everyone.  Much as second hand smoking impacts everyone within inhaling range, rudeness impacts everyone within earshot.  In these current times, where we must squeeze out as much performance and creativity as possible, how much rudeness can we afford to ignore?

Source:
Porath, C. and Erez, A. (2009). Overlooked but not untouched: How rudeness reduces onlookers’ performance on routine and creative tasks, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109 (1), 29-44

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below. 

The Progress Principle: How Small Successes Can Make a Big Difference

I’m picking up a new book this week—it is called The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work.  I learned about the book from an interview I read recently by Daniel Pink.  In the book, Pink interviews the book’s authors, Harvard Business School Professor, Teresa Amabile, and Developmental Psychologist, Steven Kramer.

You may recall that Daniel Pink is the author of Drive, a best-selling book that I reviewed last year in WorkPuzzle, and he is an expert on the topic of motivation.  He called The Progress Principle the best business book he has read in many years.  Because there are more than 11,000 business books published each year, that got my attention!

The basic premise of the book explores the questions:  

How and when are people most engaged and motivated at work?

To research this important topic, the authors recruited 238 people across seven companies and had each of them complete questionnaires and diary entries over a period of time.  In total, they amassed over 12,000 days worth of data.  In addition, they connected with more than 700 business managers to get their perspectives as well.

What were their findings?  

What motivates people the most, day-to-day, is making progress on meaningful work. 

I’ll share parts of the interview below.  Hopefully, it will spur you on to learn more about this important topic as well.

1.  Focus on small wins and incremental steps.  

Q:  Lots of business books talk about the need for bold, audacious goals — and deride those who “think small.”  But your book, which is based on research far more rigorous than its counterparts, takes a different stance.  You emphasize the power of “small wins.”  Why are those so important in the performance of individuals and organizations?

A:  Try to remember the last time you – or anyone you know – had a truly enormous breakthrough in solving a problem or achieving one of those audacious goals.  It’s pretty hard, because breakthroughs are very rare events. 

On the other hand, small wins can happen all the time.  Those are the incremental steps toward meaningful (even big) goals.  Our research showed that, of all the events that have the power to excite people and engage them in their work, the single most important is making progress – even if that progress is a small win.  That’s the progress principle.  And, because people are more creatively productive when they are excited and engaged, small wins are a very big deal for organizations.

2.  95% of managers igore the most potent motivators. 

Q: In addition to examining 12,000 daily diary entries from workers, you also surveyed a few hundred leaders — from CEOs to project managers — about what they think really motivates employees.  What did you find out?

A: Our survey showed that most leaders don’t understand the power of progress.  When we asked nearly 700 managers from companies around the world to rank five employee motivators (incentives, recognition, clear goals, interpersonal support, and support for making progress in the work), progress came in at the very bottom. 

In fact, only 5% of these leaders ranked progress first – a much lower percent than if they had been choosing randomly!  Don’t get me wrong; those other four motivators do drive people.  But we found that they aren’t nearly as potent as making meaningful progress.

3.  Negative events significantly outweigh positive events. 

Q: Negative events have a more powerful impact than positive ones.  Why?

A:  We were pretty shocked to discover the dominant effect of negative events on inner work life – people’s mostly-hidden emotions, perceptions, and motivations at work.  Setbacks have a negative effect on inner work life that’s 2-3 times stronger than the positive effect of progress. 

When we checked into whether other researchers had found something similar, we learned that it’s a general psychological effect; “bad is stronger than good.”  The reason could be evolutionary.  Maybe we pay more attention to negatives, and are more affected by them, out of self-preservation.  So – because positive inner work life is so important for top performance, leaders should do whatever they can to root out negative forces.

4.  Time pressure only helps those who are working on legitimate, mission-critical deadlines.

Q:  I was especially intrigued by your findings about time pressure.  Sometimes it helps; other times it hurts.  Tell us what you found.

A:  The typical form of time pressure in organizations today is what we call “being on a treadmill” – running all day to keep up with many different (often unrelated) demands, but getting nowhere on your most important work.  That’s an absolute killer for creativity.  Generally, low-to-moderate time pressure is optimal for creativity.

But we did find some instances in which people were terrifically creative under high time pressure.  Almost invariably, it was quite different from being on a treadmill.  Rather, people felt like they were “on a mission”— working hard to meet a truly urgent deadline on an important project, and protected from all other demands.

These are all important topics that I can apply to my personal performance as well as working with those on my team.  I’ll provide an update to what I’ve learned...after I finish the book.

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do

One of my daily "must reads" is Michael Hyatt's blog.  His advice is typically concise and concrete.  A recent edition addressed a topic that most of us experience frequently:  What to do when we don't know what to do.  I don't know about you, but I tend to become paralyzed in these situations.  But, not anymore... With this sage advice, from this point forward, I will always have the answer.  

"Early in my career, I was the marketing director for a book publishing company. Because of my workload and the on-going pressure to produce results, I felt overwhelmed.  I was certain that it was only a matter of time before my boss discovered that I was in over my head.

This produced uncertainty.  I was afraid to act.  Instead, I worried and spent an inordinate amount of time thinking through worst-case scenarios—something I am pretty good at.

Frustrated, I went to a wise, older colleague and poured out my soul.  He listened patiently, then said something I will never forget:

'Mike, just do the next right thing.'

'That’s it?' I asked.

'Yep.  That’s it,' he replied.  'You’re over-thinking it.  Just do the next right thing.  It will be okay.'

That simple concept simultaneously gave me relief and clarity.  I have used it time and time again in moments when I have felt overwhelmed and uncertain.

Here are the three steps I take.

1. Forget about the ultimate outcome.  The truth is that I probably have less control over the outcome than I think.  I can undoubtedly influence it, but I can’t control it.  Besides, before I ever get to the final destination, many of the variables will change.  Projects and deals have a way of unfolding over time.  There will be problems—and resources—I can’t see now.
2. Instead, focus on the next right action.  Since worrying about the outcome is unproductive, I try to think about the next actions that will move the project forward.  This is far more accessible than something in the distant future.  For example, as an author, I can worry about whether or not my book will become a bestseller or I can make sure that I am fully prepped for the interview I have scheduled today.
3. And do something now!  This is key.  Something is better than nothing.  Too often, we think that we have to have clarity about how it will all turn out.  In my experience, I rarely have this.  But, as I move toward the destination, making course corrections as necessary, I experience clarity.  Therefore, it is important to get off the sidelines and into the game.

So, if you are in a situation where you feel overwhelmed and don’t know what course to take, just do the next right thing."

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Retooling Your Business to Connect With a Younger Demographic

Last week, I was able to spend some time with the leadership team of one our clients in the Midwest.  These types of consulting trips always energize me because I’m able to engage those who are “slugging it out” on the front lines.  The resilience, perseverance, and tenacity displayed by real estate leaders in today’s market (those still in business) is quite inspiring.

One goal of this consulting visit was to attempt to quantify what the future holds regarding the hiring of new agents.  While there is an initial tendency to look to the past to try to predict what will work in the future, the future seems to have a way of moving on before the benefits of that exercise can be realized.

This leaves us with trying to envision the future and then matching the actions of today to what we believe will be tomorrow’s reality.  This is what business leaders call "vision."  The question I’d like to explore today is:

How do you cultivate vision in your organization or team?

The quick answer to this question is…understand your customers.  

I know this sounds simple, but understanding your customers is a profound struggle for anyone who conducts business within a mature industry.  There are so many paradigms, business frameworks, and even regulatory restrictions that keep a leader from seeing and connecting with what the customer wants.  It is often difficult, frustrating and quite expensive to make changes.

As a point of encouragement, there are other mature industries that are also struggling with this issue.  I thought it might be helpful to share an example from a recent article published in Businessweek on this topic.  When I picked-up this article, I was surprised to learn that the casual-dining industry is experiencing much of the same pain that the real estate industry has been experiencing over the last few years:

“American twentysomethings are snubbing the restaurant chains their parents took them to as kids.  Chili’s, Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday, and other so-called casual-dining chains are already struggling to revive sales in the wake of an epic recession. 

Now they risk losing an important consumer demographic group unless they remake themselves.  ‘If you have a little bit of money and you’re educated, you want a boutique feel, less chain,’ says Brad Swanson, who runs the restaurant group at KeyBanc Capital Markets, an investment banking and equity research firm.

The casual-dining chains, which serve reasonably priced sit-down meals, are losing customers to ‘fast-casual’ upstarts such as Five Guys, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Panera Bread, which offer counter service, trendy menus, and not much else.”

So, the recession has knocked these restaurant companies down, but what may keep them from getting up is a generational issue.  I suspect that people will continue to eat out, but they’re probably not going to eat at the restaurants that were so prominent just a few years ago.

Some of these companies are experiencing a sense of paralysis as these changes approach:

“Revenue at Chili’s parent, Brinker International, has declined for four straight years.  Sales at DineEquity (DIN), which owns Applebee’s and IHOP, have slid in nine of the last ten quarters (in part because the company has sold about half its Applebee’s locations to various franchisees).”

While some companies remained paralyzed as their potential declined, others saw that changes were necessary and moved quickly to make adjustments.  These changes took a little while to incubate, but they are now starting to pay off.

“Ruby Tuesday, which grew revenue in its fiscal 2011 for the first time in four years, is licensing and opening stores from Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, a Florida chain that looks a lot like a certain fast-casual competitor.

Lime Fresh restaurants feature hammered copper countertops and earth-toned walls and sell the usual Mexican fare—guacamole, quesadillas, burritos—made from ‘humanely raised’ food.  The chain ‘plays on sustainably raised, better quality, more natural ingredients—not too dissimilar to what Chipotle has done,’ says Robert Derrington, a restaurant analyst at investment firm Morgan Keegan.  ‘It’s clearly positioned towards a younger demographic.’ ”

While some of the changes necessary to stay competitive require significant capital (Applebee’s is currently rehabbing many of their restaurants at $200,000 per location), some of the less expensive changes can have a large impact—if they’re focued on the what the end customer wants:

“Millennials like to hit the bar after work.  Hence Applebee’s “Girls’ Night Out” parties, which are advertised heavily on Facebook.  Ruby Tuesday is pushing $5 cocktails made with açai berries, as well as craft beers. 

The fast-casual restaurants are doing the same.  Chipotle serves beer and margaritas at most locations, while beer and wine is on the menu at select Five Guys stores.”

Here is the bottom line:  Since the beginning of time, businesses have had to adapt to the changes in their marketplace, finances, technologies, and hundreds of other challenges.  The companies that continually recreate themselves to meet the needs of their customers will be the ones to survive.  They'll earn the privilege of competing with the new start-ups that will inevitably replace the mature companies that were not able to change.  

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

How Your Expectations Shape Your People

In the last edition, I revealed definitive research that should forever alter your approach regarding professional negotiations...from one of an aggressive--win/lose strategy, to one of positive expectation.  If you haven’t read it yet, please read it now...My hope is that it will change your view forever regarding what makes for a successful negotiation process.

How do you decide who will succeed and who will fail?  Despite the fact that some of you are convinced that you can reliably predict who will succeed and who will fail, research suggests that it might actually be your expectations that are producing the results. 

The Rosenthal Effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the expectations placed on people, the better they perform.  Since 1968, a number of experiments have proven that the reality of performance can be greatly influenced by the preconceived expectations of others.

In the famous first study, Robert Rosenthal told a number of teachers that they had assessed all of the incoming 5th graders with a special new instrument that was designed to identify which children were poised to experience an intellectual “growth spurt” in the upcoming academic year; they were “high potential” children.  In reality, these children were chosen at random, and there was nothing special about them at all.

By the end of the year, the majority of that group had, indeed, made the greatest strides among all the children, despite the fact that there was nothing different about those children, outside of having the highest expectations placed on them.

What did the teachers do differently with these students?  They tended to downplay obstacles, they showed more positive patience and, most importantly, they conveyed a strong confidence in their belief that these children would do well.  The children apparently picked up on this positive expectation and lived up to the challenge of achievement.

The Rosenthal Effect is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy.  In this respect, people with poor expectations internalize their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed accordingly.

We all are guilty of doing this.  We make snap judgments about people early on in our experiences with them.  When we do this, we unconsciously set the stage for failure.

This once again proves a simple, yet eternal principle:  If you want to bring out the best in people, expect the best; expect that they CAN do it...show patience, positive confidence, and a greater number of people WILL succeed.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

How to Guarantee Improved Negotiations

In Real Estate, perhaps more than most industries, much of the work requires good negotiating skills.  Whether you are helping clients buy or sell as an agent, or recruiting an experienced agent, there are numerous opportunities to practice your skills.  Do you trust your skills?  Or, do you need to brush up on them?

The surprising news, according to researchers Anderson and Ross (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology), is that your techniques may play a considerably lesser role than you would imagine.  So, what does matter?

Before I tell you the answer, allow me to describe how Anderson and Ross set up their research:

Varda Liberman and colleagues had undergraduates negotiate with a postgraduate student (Stooge- who was told nothing of the purpose or design of the study) about the division of university funds between undergrad and post-grad students.  Half of the undergrads were told that previous negotiations had reached agreement (a positive expectation), and half were told just to "try their best" (no expectation).  The result was that all 17 of the "positive expectation" group reached an agreement, while only five out of 17 of the "no expectation" group agreed.  Also, the positive group rated the offers made to them as much more fair and were more satisfied with the outcome.

Another, much tougher experiment required Jewish Israeli Business School students to negotiate with an Arab Israeli woman over the division of funds between Israel and Palestine.  You can imagine all the pre-concieved biases that would potentially have a negative impact on this discussion.  But, again those who had their expectations set toward a positive outcome found far greater agreement (31/38 vs. 13/38), and were also happier with the outcome.

So, clearly, what we anticipate greatly influences outcome.  If you go into a negotiation believing the worst, and expecting to be taken advantage of, you're likely to be too aggressive and competitive.  Your motive is to win "the battle."  Or, on the flip side...if you are overly concerned about offending and are too passive, you might make easy concessions and likewise, not be pleased with the result.

So, why does positive expectation work?  Positive expectations breed trust and acceptance of the other person as a reasonable, rational person.  That in turn creates a baseline of legitimacy of both parties needs, and minimizes the gamesmanship.  The jockeying for the best maneuver to "win" is no longer the central goal.

Now don't get the wrong idea... It's not that it makes you blindly trust the other person.  You still retain the right to assess whether your opinions/beliefs are being considered as well.  Expectations can remain high.

The overall principle is a simple one:  Assume the best in people first, and your success will improve.  The right principles are always the eternal ones.  They aren't just the right things to do...they are what's best for everyone.

In the next edition, I'll share how this principle is vital for those who recruit, train, and mentor new agents.

Reference:  Liberman, V., Anderson, N., and Ross, L. (2010).  Achieving difficult agreements:  Effects of Positive Expectations on negotiation processes and outcomes.  Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46 (3), 494-504 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Are You a River Person or a Rut Person?

By river people, I'm not talking about the guy who lives in a van down by the river (like on Saturday Night Live).  Rather, I'm referring to the type of person who keeps everyone around them hopeful and motivated to press on toward a goal, even when times get tough.  Don't confuse my use of the term with what a few self-help gurus have suggested.  I'm talking about these people in contrast to those (some by no fault of their own) who have become "rut people," or those who have been infected by the dreaded learned helplessness (LH).  (I'll explain more about LH in the next edition.)
 
Over the past 25 years of providing psychotherapy, my chief mission has been to free people from unconscious ruts that control their lives.  This isn't easy.  People rarely see how they have boxed themselves into a view of themselves and a view of the world that limits their perspective, beliefs and actions.

When a person is in a rut through learned helplessness, they limit their own movement, growth, vision and freedom to act.  They see the world in a fixed way, and try to convince everyone around them that their "rut trapped" perspective is indeed reality.  The way they lead their life unveils consistent themes, describing their own personal rut repeatedly acted out.

A person who is not stuck in a rut, flows like a river, emanating wisdom, humor, and humility, even in difficult times.  They may have a long list of things that haven't worked out, but have no regrets for their efforts.

When things are going well, economically and emotionally, it is much more difficult to differentiate the "rut people" from the "river people."  In good times, everyone can fake their way to appearing like positive, hopeful geniuses.  But when the tide goes out, you can sure see who isn't wearing a swimming suit!  In difficult times, ruts are bound to show themselves.  Even the most fluid people can be temporarily thrown into a rut in these extreme circumstances, simply because life isn't familiar or secure.

Losing a job, a home, and plans for the future can certainly appear as an insurmountable rut.  "River people" however, don't allow themselves to get stuck there.  They manage to continually pull themselves up and out of the rut, dust themselves off, and move on with life.  I feel fortunate to know many river people and they are always refreshing and encouraging to be around.  They are the Salt and Light of our world.

As leaders, you owe it to yourself and those you coach to be this Salt and Light for your organization, to give people hope.  Whether you're coaching agents or interviewing new candidates, help people find hope and envision the opportunities that can unfold if they exercise the "formula for confidence."  Help them realize their freedom and potential through new ideas, new innovations, new training, new commitments, new values, and perhaps even an entirely new direction.

You'll find that everyone within an organization benefits once every single individual tributaries finds their "flow," and can contribute their full potential once again.  It's not only practical to encourage this hope, it's the right thing to do.

But, change is difficult - Even the most healthy, rational people tend to avoid change, preferring instead the security and safety of what is known.  Ironically however, change can produce incredible growth, if responded to effectively.  If you're interviewing new candidates without both empathy around change, PLUS the encouragement to change, you're missing an incredibly useful and helpful tool.

Have candidates answer this question:  When have you experienced the most growth in your life?  For most people the answer is when they were undergoing tremendous change, accompanied by uncertainty...perhaps when they were much younger.

It's normal to risk more when we're younger, because we don't have that much to lose. If you analyze that statement, you will begin to see the problem:  Security and hanging onto what we've acquired becomes paramount for most of us when we're older.  We cling to it and cherish it, without ever reflecting on its inherent value to our well-being.

Of course it's irresponsible to take foolish risks.  But, you can also make the argument that it is foolish to follow a course of action simply because it offers the illusion of security.

In the next edition, I'll describe the concept of Learned Helplessness, so that you can better understand how people get stuck in ruts, and how you can help them out...

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.