To: My Friends

Issue: Joy in the Workplace

Is joy in the workplace an oxymoron? No! It is essential for creating a high performing organization. The CEO, the principal, or the shift supervisor can never realize the full potential of the people they lead without there being a sense of joy. A workplace with a joy deficit is severely handicapped.

But isn't money more important than joy? People with little employment opportunities may sublimate their need for joy in order to put food on the table, but the need is still there. People with options leave. Several years ago my wife, an elementary school teacher, took a $10,000/year salary cut to change school districts in the hope of regaining joy in her work. Close to 50% of the people I know who have changed jobs have done so in order to gain a measure of joy which was missing in their work.

How do you recognize joy in the workplace? You see people energized by pursuing goals that they consider to be meaningful. You see them pulling together for a common purpose. You see them volunteering to help each other. You see a "can-do" attitude, optimism, smiling faces, and you hear laughter. You find people who look forward to coming to work. You see supportive leadership and people creating positive experiences out of performing mundane tasks. You see them celebrating success. You hear them telling others about the great place where they work. You see creativity and extraordinary results from inspired people. If you don't see such behavior in your organization there probably is a joy deficit - and that can be fatal!

Isn't such behavior uncommon? Yes! But it is what people crave. What is all to common is the micro-managing martinet who behaves like a prison guard when, instead, he/she should empower people. Controlling, authoritarian leaders bring out the worst in people, and everyone loses.

A leader who does not inspire and enable people to achieve their goals with joy is mis-using the organization's resources.

How do you create joy in the workplace? Joy is a by-product. In order for there to be joy, the people you lead need to experience a deep-seated belief in them. They need to see that you are there for them. They need you to look for the good in them, and to bring out the best in them. They need to experience your infectious enthusiasm for accomplishing important goals, and have the freedom to "own" what they set out to accomplish. They need to be recognized for their successes and for taking risks.

Technology has been the defining influence in the world of work in the 20th century. While it will continue to be influential in the 21st, the real gains in what organizations can accomplish will come from leadership that unleashes the full potential of the human spirit. For too long organizations have been hiring whole people, yet benefiting from only a fraction of their potential. The organizations that will thrive in the 21st century will be those whose leadership brings out the best in people, and in the process, creates a sense of joy. Invest only in companies where there is an abiding sense of joy.

Do you know of an organization with a deficit of joy? Would you like to do them a favor? Pass this message on to their leaders and encourage them to talk with me.

Sincerely,

Ian Jacobsen CMC, FIMC
Coach to Leaders and Teams