How to get your expectations met. Hint: share your needs.
October 8, 2015
Want support from your man? Let him be your hero.
December 8, 2015
Is there something in your life you truly hate?
Something you just can’t stand?
Do you know why you hate it?
I have very strong feelings about large corporations. I have this strong dislike because I have spent 21 years of my working life in them. I never really fit in; I always questioned why they were doing what they were doing. It was never logical to me. And it was ALWAYS about the bottom line.
My co workers were miserable. Always bitching or looking for another job. At one company some even went off on stress leave, heck I even went off on stress leave!!
As a coach I now know deep in my core that a complaint or a strong dislike of something is actually about one of our values being compromised. It means things are out of balance for us and that we are not honoring the value that is being compromised. It just doesn’t feel right in our gut.
So for 20 plus years I have always felt that it was just me that I was simply a non-conformist and nobody in management really wanted to hear my opinion.
Several months ago I was sent a TedTalk by Simon Sinek called “Start with Why.”
I loved what he had to say, it resonated for me, so I knew I had to read his book.
It only got better.
Finally someone was saying what I had been saying for years!!! Companies/employers whose sole focus was the bottom line and to sell a product based on its benefits were actually using manipulation tactics to get people to buy. They weren’t creating loyal customers they were just getting a sale and that did not guarantee a loyal customer nor did it guarantee happy productive staff.
Because they couldn’t answer Why they were doing what they were doing as a business, neither could their staff and so no one at the company truly believed in what they were doing. They were just showing up for the paycheque.
Sound familiar?
Sinek says everyone can usually answer the questions of what they do at their company and even how they do it, but if no one in leadership has ever sat down to help staff buy into “why” they are doing what they do odds are good that your company is surviving, not thriving.
Sinek lists several companies who are good examples of knowing why they do what they do, and who in turn have staff members who buy into this belief and therefore create an amazing company, and loyal customers. Apple, Southwest Airlines and Harley Davidson are a few. He also has even more examples of companies that did not work, TiVo being one of them.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is by the founder of Southwest Airlines, one of the successful companies Sinek discusses, where he says when asked about who comes first at Southwest, the shareholders or the employees, “Well, that’s easy,” he said, “employees come first and if employees are treated right, they treat the outside world right, the outside world uses the company’s product again, and that makes the shareholders happy. That really is the way that it works and it’s not a conundrum at all.”
Whoa!!! What a concept. However even today that belief is not held by many large corporations, what will it take to break this old belief?
This, I believe, is why so many people come to coaching unhappy in their current job, unfulfilled, restless, and unmotivated. And through coaching we help them to find the courage to see where their values are being compromised and to find the courage to make the changes.
Check out Simon Sinek’s book, Start with Why, and start spreading the word, it’s time for a change, from the top down vs the usual cleaning house at the bottom of the totem pole.
(Want to talk about your current job or career with a coach? Send me an email and we can set up a time to have that deeper discussion as to what’s going on for you. )
Are you unhappy in your job? Is there something about being there you just can’t stand?
I have very strong feelings about large corporations. This strong dislike comes from having spent 21 years of my working life in them. I never really fit in; I always questioned why they were doing what they were doing. It was never logical to me. And it was ALWAYS about the bottom line.
My co workers were miserable. Always bitching or looking for another job. At one company some even went off on stress leave, heck I even went off on stress leave!!
All of this complaining or a strong dislike of something, is actually about one of our values being compromised. It means things are out of balance for us and that we are not honoring the value that is being compromised. It just doesn’t feel right in our gut.
For 20 plus years I have always felt that it was just me that I was simply a non-conformist and nobody in management really wanted to hear my opinion. Several months ago I was sent a TedTalk by Simon Sinek called “Start with Why.”
Then a light when on. I loved what he had to say, it resonated for me, so I knew I had to read his book. It only got better.
SOMEONE FINALLY GETS IT
Finally someone was saying what I had been saying for years!!! Companies/employers whose sole focus was the bottom line and to sell a product based on its benefits were actually using manipulation tactics to get people to buy. They weren’t creating loyal customers they were just getting a sale and that did not guarantee a loyal customer nor did it guarantee happy productive staff.
Because they couldn’t answer Why they were doing what they were doing as a business, neither could their staff and so no one at the company truly believed in what they were doing. They were just showing up for the paycheque.
Sound familiar?
Sinek says everyone can usually answer the questions of what they do at their company and even how they do it, but if no one in leadership has ever sat down to help staff buy into “why” they are doing what they do odds are good that your company is surviving, not thriving.
Sinek lists several companies who are good examples of knowing why they do what they do, and who in turn have staff members who buy into this belief and therefore create an amazing company, and loyal customers. Apple, Southwest Airlines and Harley Davidson are a few. He also has even more examples of companies that did not work, TiVo being one of them.
EMPLOYEES FIRST, WOW
One of my favorite quotes from the book is by the founder of Southwest Airlines, one of the successful companies Sinek discusses, where he says when asked about who comes first at Southwest, the shareholders or the employees, “Well, that’s easy,” he said, “employees come first and if employees are treated right, they treat the outside world right, the outside world uses the company’s product again, and that makes the shareholders happy. That really is the way that it works and it’s not a conundrum at all.”
Whoa!!! What a concept. However even today that belief is not held by many large corporations. What will it take to break this old belief?
This, I believe, is why so many people come to coaching unhappy in their current job, unfulfilled, restless, and unmotivated. Through coaching they learn to find the courage to see where their values are being compromised and to to use that courage to make the changes they want.
Check out Simon Sinek’s book, Start with Why, and start spreading the word, it’s time for a change, from the top down vs the usual cleaning house at the bottom of the totem pole.
(Are you unhappy in. your job? Schedule a FREE sample session and we can dive into what’s going on for you.)
