Soar to Success August 2019

SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies 2. Being heard. Most employees know their jobs better than you know their jobs. When they come to you with ideas for doing things differently, listen to them. Your staffmay see things that you don’t see. When you’re in the “we’ve always done it this way mentality,” there’s no room for growth. You don’t have to act on each idea and suggestion that you hear, but you do need to let your employees know that you are listening to them. 3. Feeling valued. Leaders can make a significant impact on their staff’s happiness by recognizing the excellent work that employees do. A study by Marcial Losada found that high performing teams ran on a 6:1 positivity ratio. This ratio means that for every one negative comment team members received, they heard six positive remarks. On an average performing team, the number drop to a 3:1 positivity ratio. At 3:1, there is an even balance. Employees do just enough work to get by, nothing more. On a low performing team, the ratio fell to a dismal .3:1. That means that employees on a low performing team hear three times more negatives than positives. You may not necessarily get to 6:1 right off the bat, but the closer you can get to that ratio, the better the results in an increase in employee happiness. When you give your employees the flexibility to do their jobs in the way they see fit, you listen to their ideas, and you recognize the excellent work that theydo, youcreate the foundation for your employees’ happiness in your workplace.