Monday, April 25, 2011

Work with Your Enthusiasm

"Nothing great has been achieved without enthusiasm."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two people with virtually the same amount of skill and talent can differ vastly in the amount of success they achieve. If you have noticed that employee enthusiasm takes a nose dive shortly after new hires start work with your company, you are not alone. In fact, there is a disturbing and significant decline in employees’ overall job satisfaction after they have been with their employer for six months or more, according to research conducted by Sirota Consulting.

A person can succeed at anything for which there is enthusiasm.
-Charles M. Schwab

What would your company be like if your employees showed up with passion and boundless enthusiasm each day?

Enthusiasm is one of your most important assets. Enthusiasm is one of the key ingredients to making your business work. Before you lay out a business plan, make sure you are going where your passion leads you, as you will need this enthusiasm to keep you going through the rough times. Visualize your goals and where you want to be in two or three years. Also use positive affirmations to help keep your attitude up.

Employees cannot be expected to be enthusiastic about an organization that is not enthusiastic about them.

Not all jobs are exciting or glamorous; in fact, most involve rather mundane tasks being performed again and again

Passionate employees are more effective. They’re more fun to work with. They get more done on a daily basis. They work with greater accuracy and they inspire excellence in others. Passionate employees directly affect the bottom line and influence the company culture in a positive way. So how do we tap into the passion our employees possess?

What's the difference between enthusiasm and gasoline? Maybe, there's not much difference between the two. They both provide the power to drive us forward. (Enthusiasm: The Key to Productivity and Innovation By Don Doman)

Enthusiasm in the workplace, properly ignited, can propel your business into success. Motivated employees work harder. They'll even come with ideas to improve the product or service. Motivated and enthusiastic employees are the best kind of employees to have.

Here are ways you can fire up unmotivated and under enthusiastic workers:

THE TIME IS NOWWhen you see someone doing a good job, the time to tell them about it is right then. Don't wait for tomorrow or next week. Who knows? You might forget about it. If you tell someone they are doing a good job, they won't forget about it.

LET YOUR FEELINGS SHOWDon't be an old stone face. Everyone has feelings. Show yours. If your workers are doing a great job, then shouldn't you be excited? Shouldn't you be proud? Let those emotions show on your face. Share your enthusiastic feelings. Your feelings will boost moral and encourage the same feeling among your workers.

GIVE A PAT ON THE BACKNothing builds enthusiasm like trust. When you give someone a task to accomplish it shows that you believe in them. If you believe in them, can they believe any less? You don't even have to make encouraging statements. The task alone speaks volumes.

“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” -Winston Churchill

You have the opportunity to choose enthusiasm every moment of the day. Rekindle your Enthusiasm and Ignite your spark for reaching your potential and success.