http://mergespeaks.com/blog/">Turning Managers into Leaders

Over and over again, organizational research has shown that when employees have fun at work, they are more engaged in their work responsibilities and they perform better on the job. But what does it take to create a workplace that is playful, productive and profitable? In this month’s issue of CGA Magazine, I give you five specific ways that you can use fun and humour to increase employee morale and commitment. Read it: Are We Having Fun Yet? Creating a Workplace That Is Playful and Productive.

And once you’re done, come back and tell us right here on the blog: how specifically are you using fun and humour to create a workplace that’s high on productivity and performance?

A few weeks ago, I gave you a short video clip about focusing on the problem rather than the person when giving negative feedback to your employees.  In this installment, I show you a way to criticize an employee while actually boosting the employee’s morale!  Watch the video below to find out how.

If giving negative feedback to your employees is something you struggle with, then be sure to also take another look at these past blog posts:

• Giving constructive feedback to employees – one powerful tip
• Giving negative feedback: focus on facts instead of opinions
• Giving negative feedback: stay future-focused
• Giving negative feedback: focus on the problem, not the person

So, let’s have a conversation about how you manage this challenging aspect of your leadership role.  Share your approach to giving negative feedback with me and others on this blog.  Just click on the Comment link below.

Last week, I showed you exactly how to ensure that the positive feedback you give your employees has the encouraging impact you want — I told you about how critical it is to be specific. This week, I want to talk about another necessary and important component of praise — timeliness. This short video explains what I mean.

So … how good are you at making sure that your praise is “immediate”? What gets in the way?

As a leader, many of your tasks can be difficult or challenging.  Which means that when you find an opportunity to give positive feedback to your employees, it’s even more enjoyable.  Praising your staff for a job well done is one of the most pleasant responsibilities that comes with being a  supervisor, team leader or manager.  So if you’re going to do it, you want to make sure that it counts!  This short video demonstrates first how not to give positive feedback to an employee, and then follows it up with a much improved version.  The difference — specificity.  See for yourself.

I may have been sincere in all the situations, but because I was SPECIFIC in the latter examples, I was much more effective. My praise had the positive impact that I wanted it to have. Do you see the difference? Your thoughts and comments welcomed.

Over the summer, we ran an online poll asking the question:

Is your workplace fun?

The poll closed last week, and here are the results … (drum roll please) …

• 45% said Yes or On Most Days

• 33% said Every so often

• 22% responded in the negative!  

Yikes!  22% said that they didn’t have fun at work!  Given that we spend so many of our waking hours at work, methinks that if  you’re not having fun, it’s not worth doing!  So why is it?  Why do you think over one-fifth of our respondents go to a job, day after day, where they aren’t having a good time?  Is it the money?  Fear of not getting another job?  What?

Workplace fun has been shown to increase employee morale, boost creativity and innovation, enhance performance, improve organizational commitment, and decrease turnover.  When employees look forward to coming to their jobs each day, they are more engaged in their responsibilities and they also perform better on the job. All very good reasons for you to create a playful and productive environment in your workplace! But … would your employees say that they find their work environment enjoyable, entertaining, playful and encouraging? If not, then it’s time to add more humor and merriment to your workplace. And it is possible to do so without sacrificing professionalism and performance.

Join me, Merge, for one fast-paced and content-rich hour in which I’ll show you exactly how to use fun and humor to create team cohesiveness, improve communication and creativity, and reduce stress. Not only that, but I’ll give you specific examples of what other high-performing organizations are doing AND teach you what YOU can do to achieve the same level of success in your organization or department.

Click here to register now

See how the most successful companies bring fun and humor to the workplace, learn specific and practical ways to do it for yourself, and find out how to overcome the obstacles that get in your way.  And if you act before September 7, you can take advantage of early bird savings!

Here’s some of what you’ll learn:

• Five definitive actions you can take to create a fun and creative work environment AND a highly-motivated team
• Specific examples of what other high-performing organizations have done to create fun workplaces AND insights into what YOUR team might consider “fun”
• What the research tells us about the connection between workplace fun/humor and employee motivation and team performance
• A simple model that lays out how five specific styles of humor can be used to achieve six very desirable organizational outcomes
• The six critical and necessary principles for creating a fun workplace

Join me on September 14, 2011 at 11 AM MDT. Early bird pricing in effect ONLY until this Wednesday September 7!

Click here to register, or for more information.

So the research unequivocally shows that employees who have fun at work are also more motivated and productive.  Which means that if you’re a leader, it VERY worth your while to create a work climate that your employees find enjoyable, entertaining, playful and encouraging.  But not at the sacrifice of professionalism and performance!  On Wednesday September 14, I’m leading a live Audio Conference on exactly this topic — using fun to motivate your team and maximize performance — and I’ll be opening the lines for questions.  So tell me — what is one thing that I could help you with or one obstacle that I could help you overcome in order to create a fun, positive and productive workplace? Go to www.AskMerge.com to ask your question and I’ll answer as many as I can on September 14.

And while you’re at www.AskMerge.com, be sure to vote in our “fun” online poll.  Tell us what your workplace is like, an see how others have answered this question.  Just click on the link on the bottom left of the screen.

Earlier this year in a previous blog post, I told you about the Hawthorne Effect – ground-breaking research on employee motivation by Dr. Elton Mayo in the 1930’s.  In a nutshell, Mayo discovered a fundamental concept that may seem obvious to us today: that workplaces are social environments and people thrive in positive and respectful surroundings.  So, as a leader, when you create a positive atmosphere at work, you are much more likely to secure your employees’ cooperation and loyalty, and thus improve productivity and performance.  Which leads to the next obvious question: what are some specific things that you can do to create such an environment and motivate and encourage your employees to peak performance?

Here’s one very effective approach: take steps to raise the self-esteem of your employees.  And the simplest and most influential way to do so – offer genuine and sincere praise for the things that they do well.  The keys to success – first, your praise must be genuine and sincere, and second, keep in mind that saying “thank you” is quite possibly the easiest alternative there is.  Now you may think to yourself that you do this already, but wait just a moment … let’s conduct a little experiment.  Tomorrow, before you go to work, put ten pennies in one pocket.  Read the rest of this entry »

The research shows there is a direct correlation between fun in the workplace and employee productivity.  In fact, fun at work is also directly linked to increased morale, greater creativity and innovation, enhanced performance, higher commitment to the organization, and lower turnover.  So what is your workplace like?  Is it a fun, playful and productive environment … or not.  Participate in our online poll; it will take just a moment.  You can see up-to-date results right after you vote, and I’ll report the final results right here on my blog on September 15th.  Click on the link below.

Go to online poll

Is your workplace fun?  Participate in our online poll; it will take just a moment.  Just click below.

Go to online poll

You can see up-to-date results right after you vote, and I’ll report the final results right here on my blog on September 14^th.