Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Your boss isn't holding you back...

Admit it! Each morning we wake the constant battle of recharging the batteries is no longer connected to the balancing act between who gets fed first the dogs, cats or kids. Once those eyes pop open the head and heart are instantly shot back to the continuing drama of Used to be Happy at Work.

Every walk of life plays out like a Bradley Cooper meets Robert De Niro scenario where it seems the bigger guy always wins. But when it comes to reality who’s winning the brownie points race?

According to Careerbuilders.com 58% of the current American working force likes their boss. 14% admitted to having a friendship with their decision maker outside the four walls of biweekly paychecks and too many taxes taken out.

Why do bosses get a bad rap? Weren’t they one of us at one time? Is the boss the true trouble maker?

HRmorning.com reveals the top seven reasons why employees walk away: Downsizing and restructuring, new challenges and opportunities, ineffective leadership, poor relationship with manager, to improve work and life balances, contributions to the company were not valued and to get better compensation and benefits.

Bad bosses came in at numbers three and four; which shocked a lot of business watchdog groups who’re used to seeing poor managing skills being at the top of list of complaints.

Instantly I can hear my good friend Alan’s voice ringing out, “The employees lied on the survey to save their job!”

Tribes author Seth Godin has a clearer picture to grab; two elementary classes in the same school…who gets better grades, the smaller class with sixteen students or the larger gathering of 32 students? Its completely natural to think the smaller class because being in such a situation gives the teacher more time to develop a better working relationship with the students.

That’s not true…

Productivity succeeds through quality leadership: motivate, connect, leverage. Great leaders aren’t in the market to please everyone. Their messages aren’t watered down because they’ve learned that through motivation and connection movement is far more powerful than waiting for fate to take a bite out of your reality.

Native American’s find no faith in fate. When I hear someone say, “My career is in the hands of fate.” My first response is always, “Did you bring a chair?”

Fate is when you sit down and let life happen. You spend decades waiting for the right opportunity to arrive while complaining to family and friends about much your boss and job suck.

No…the economy does. Too many believe if we sit around long enough the situation will correct itself. Try using that line in Japan where the world’s best nuclear engineers have quickly gathered to try and cool off not one but four reactors that could blow life stopping radiation into our unwritten chapters at anytime.

If Careerbuilders.com is correct in reporting that 58% of us believe in our boss, in an age of high unemployment and hourly fear of losing your job…what’s keeping our level of faith on the approval charts?

Simplyhired.com hosts an endless list of reactions that include humanistic, doesn’t micro manage, knowledge of the business and is giving…

The only thing different between bosses and parents…one of them isn’t picked by you. Even if there’s spoiled milk in the halls of work, work, work, it’s still your choice to come or go.

An incredible book to study (not read) is Julia Cameron’s Artist way at Work where she teaches you to take the time to identify the several levels of personalities surrounding your everyday. Using her methods of painting a room invited my workspace to become a place of peace due to a theory I call The Beatles: Four completely different guys that obviously had separate visions and desires and yet as a unit their harmonies have lasted over fifty years.

I fully grasp the picture of Johnny the taxi cab driver hopping into his car without ever having eye to eye contact with the one signing his paycheck only to viciously complain about him or her in every circle he walks. If Johnny isn’t motivated to connect there can’t be any leverage to gain access to success.

This might be crossing the line but I’ll say it…growing up with an extremely strict religious mother who taught many lessons through sharing pictures…never once did I see the “J” man standing at a podium talking to his followers. He sat with them; which I believe is well written about in Billy Graham’s autobiography…Billy’s fame didn’t originate from sermons that rocked you like a hurricane but Mr. Graham sat with the people.

Maybe 58% of the well liked bosses heading our current state of existence have learned the fine art of sitting with their employees. If that’s not the case where you pump the dollar signs into your bank account…be a leader by setting the example. Board rooms and conference tables weren’t designed for people to stand up…plant your butt in the chair and toss out an old fashioned fish bowl conversation.

Motivate, connect…leverage.

I will always believe in you first…

arroecollins@clearchannel.com

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