ISSUE 52 ISSN 1712-468
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Attitudes, Choices, Expectations, and Actions

This past Friday I was standing in line at Starbucks. Now before you judge, know that I was getting a Grande Dark Roast not squandering my kids education fund on a speciality coffee I can t figure how to order non-fat, no whip, soya, extra hot, something, something, something.

The lady ahead of me came up 92 cents short on her Starbucks card. I watched her search her purse for the money to pay, then pull out her debit card. I stepped forward and placed a $1 coin on the counter to cover the balance of her bill. She politely declined and informed me she was going to reload her card and pay for her coffee at the same time. She did, however, thank me for my offer.

Then it was my turn to pay and I offered my Gold Member Starbucks card yes, I drink that much coffee. When the barista swiped my card, she got all excited. I had been randomly chosen to complete a survey on my Starbucks experience that day and would receive the beverage of my choice for doing so. A nice surprise!

Now I may not choose a $5 coffee when it will come out of my bank account, but with the opportunity to receive a freebie, I have no problem learning the lingo  I ll take an extra-hot venti skinny vanilla latté!

There is a proverb that states,  Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.

I believe that universal principle needs to be applied not only to our finances but to all areas of our lives including the way we treat our staff.

Years ago I had a client who believed her employees were out to take advantage of her and she relied heavily on threats and coercion to gain their compliance. As a result of her attitude toward her staff, I spent a lot of time in front of labor tribunals! She also suffered from huge staff turnover.

Perception

If you have studied management theory, you have been exposed to Douglas McGregor and his Theory X and Y workforce motivation. They have to do with management s perception of employees . . . not the way employees generally behave. It s about attitudes, not attributes.

  • My client was Theory X through and through. In Theory X which has been proven counter-effective in most modern practice, management assumes
    • employees are inherently lazy,
    • they will avoid work if they can, and
    • they basically dislike work.

    As a result of that attitude, Theory X management believes
    • workers need to be closely supervised, and
    • comprehensive systems of controls must be developed.

The Theory X manager tends to believe everything must end in blaming someone.

  • A current client practices what McGregor called Theory Y, where management assumes employees may be ambitious and self-motivated and able to exercise self-control. Theory Y managers believe that employees given the proper conditions will learn to seek out and accept responsibility and exercise self-control and self-direction to accomplish objectives to which they are committed.

  • Today there is even a Theory Z, based on the work of Dr. William Ouchi. Theory Z focuses on increasing employee loyalty to the company by providing a job for life with a strong focus on the well-being of the employee, both on and off the job.

My client, who is practicing Theory Y and probably some Theory Z, too, provides his staff with much leeway when it comes to obtaining the results his company requires.

When you walk into the office, there s a buzz that I don t find in too many places these days.

  • The group wants to be there.
  • They have fun together.
  • They have crazy work contests.
  • Most important, they treat each other with respect.

My client is constantly looking for ways to encourage his staff.

What does that have to do with a free coffee or an old proverb?

In our work lives, you and I have a choice.

  • We can choose to believe that our clients, staff, or employer are out to take advantage of what we have to offer. We can hold our cards close to the chest, not go out of our way to do anything above and beyond what we are asked to do, and certainly never offer any complimentary advice, time, or resources.

    If we choose to follow that path, we can expect misery and we will receive it.

    Don t worry: What you expect, you will ultimately get. Your clients will be grumpy, they will take advantage of you, and you will never get  the break you think you deserve.

  • OR

  • We can choose to be generous. We can believe that the people we are engaging today want what is best for us and will compensate and treat us fairly. We can choose to look for ways to be generous with our time and even our resources.

    And guess what? What you expect, you will get back. If you are generous to others, that generosity will come back to you in time.

Attitude Adjustment

Part of the problem is that we often have a faulty view of others and that faulty view is a result of not getting to know ourselves and others on a deeper level . . . we don t take the time to find out what makes them tick and what makes them excited about life and work.

I m very keen about the suite of tools offered by CRG! CRG s learning instruments will help you adopt a more positive, proactive attitude

  • to get clear about your own values,
  • to understand the values of others, and
  • to discover the many different and interesting ways that individuals approach time, tasks, situations, and people.

As I get to know people better, I can find positive ways to build into their lives. And as I build into their lives, what happens? They start to build into my life. That is a very positive reciprocal payback!

You can only grow your way to success you can t shrink your effort or let it stay the same!

Let me encourage you to visit our store at http://www.crgleader.com/store.html and start on your road to growth. If you aren t sure where to begin, pick up the phone (604) 852-0566 and speak to one of the CRG professionals.

Final Notes

I could have chosen not to step up to help the lady pay for her coffee and I might or might not have been randomly chosen for the freebie.

There will be days when you go out of your way to help a someone and you don t see an immediate payback; in fact, you may even get snubbed. From experience I know that in time, you will be rewarded for your efforts.

I challenge you today to go out and give your best to help the people around you. As Zig Ziglar says,  If you help enough other people get what they want, you will get what you want.  

Expect to be rewarded for your genuine efforts and you will be.

Expect to be taken advantage of and you will be.  

What are you expecting?

 

 

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