Adopt Your Employer's Goals as Your Own

Do you want to be the most valuable employee possible to your company? If you do, it begins by discovering your  company's goals and adopting them as your own.

You have been hired for a purpose. Regardless of your company, the industry it is in, your level of education or experience, you have been hired to accomplish tasks that benefit the company. You probably took the job to earn a living and provide resources for your family. It is a wonderful thing if you love your job and it gives you a sense of accomplishment other than providing the basic needs of life. Many people, however, work at jobs because of need not because they are fulfilling a sense of calling.

Three Keys to Success

Success is a goal for everyone and elusive for many. Your future, your family, and your employers are all depending upon you being successful. The interesting thing about success is that when we are successful, everyone around us benefits.

Another thing about success is that everyone has a different idea about what success looks like. What it means to be successful to me may not be the same thing to you. It is important to develop your own definition of success, then write it down. Let it become your personal missions statement.

It's a Thing! A Learning Organization!

"It's a thing" is a series that highlights concepts that employers and managers use and sometimes evaluate employees with that they may not be aware.

A learning organization is the business term given to a company that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself.

People do what they are motivated to do!

We often hear managers complain that their workers are not "motivated." However, I remind them that people do what they are motivated to do and they do not do what they are not motivated to do. Fortunately, most employees are motivated with paychecks (the carrot) and do not need much more motivation. There are some employees, unfortunately, that require more effort to motivate in becoming productive and efficient.

Motivation is the drive that compels someone to act because someone else is directing them toward a goal. You can say that motivation is the ability to change behavior. Motivation that comes from inside the person to control their behavior is known as intrinsic motivation. Examples of intrinsic motivation are personal development and personal satisfaction. Motivation that come from external factors such as rewards or the threat of punishment is extrinsic motivation. 

It's a Thing! Emotional Intelligence

"It's a thing" is a series that highlights concepts that employers and managers use and sometimes evaluate employees with that they may not be aware.

Just a few years ago, Emotional Intelligence (EI) was a new topic. Today it seems that everyone is talking about it, yet I find that few people apply it to personal development. Having an understanding of EI is important because it is now a major measuring stick by which employees are measured. I have heard many managers say that a particular employee is not "too high" in EI. The ramifications for not increasing your EI is the difference in a job or no job at worst and the difference in a promotion or no promotion at best.