riding the razor v108full

8/4/2019 Riding the Razor v108full

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LeaderShiftRiding the Razor V10.8a

Coaching Team building Hi-Voltage Leadership Talks Appreciative Enquiry Strategic EngagementUnleashing the power of passionate, posit ive, ful ly engaged and inspired people

www.lifemasters.co.za Tel: 011 467-1763 Cell:083-447-6300Copyright Life Masters International Tony Dovale 1996-2009 Page 1 of 34

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21st

Century

Team Building

Transformation

& Coaching

EQ, AQ, XQ,SQ

eMotionetics

AQ Coaching

Innovation Games

RealAi Team

Building

Strategy Coaching

Corporate Courses

The KILLACompany

Destiny, Cause &Calling

SalesShift

ServiceShift

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LeaderShift

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Private Courses

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The Phoenix

Adventure

Dragon Slayers

The Alchemist

P.O. Box 2357

Fourways, 2055

Cell 083-447-6300

Tel 011 467-1763

Fax 011 467-3790

Email: RTR@

Coachfree.com

Sites: www.

lifemasters.co.za

team-building.za.net

professionalspeaker.za.n

et

lifemasters.za.net

tony-dovale.com

coachfree.com

Dont even

think of sending your management or staff on another

training, coaching or team-building, until you have

read this information on the new Emotional

Economy, Leadership, Trust, Coaching,

Engagement and other important facts

influencing

your teams and their performance.Without good differentiation, and engaged staff,

youre forced to ride the cost-cutting razor.

Cynicisms at an all time high. Already low trust levels are continuing to fall, and integrity levels

are almost non-existent. Business pressure and stresses are ever-increasing, budgets are tight and

profit levels have been steadily eroding over the last 50 years.

(See graph right below)

We mistakenly believe our staff need more skills and more motivation to perform effectively. The

need to do more with less is our biggest challenge. We need our staff and teams to deliver more

now! But how?

As competition and pressure to perform to world-classstandards grow, companies are forced to find new ways

to differentiate - or die. Its time to walk the talk of

our employees are our greatest assets.

Its only through your fully engaged employees and

powerful cohesive teams that you can create the

sustainable and competitive difference that makes the

difference in this new economy.

Competition is growing at such a pace in some segments

that the margin between winning and losing is razor thin

and still getting tighter.

Welcome to the new Emotional/Energetic Economy

your real competitive advantage, and path, to long-term

success. Its all about balancing people AND profits. Its

about Energy, Engagement, Higher Ground Leadership Teamwork and Inspiration. Its about a

more intelligent and astute version of Capitalism.

Extensive research highlights challenges we face in getting our staff and teams aligned, engaged,

and fully active. Below are some pointers to consider for your workplace, gleaned from our

research, our first hand coaching and Life Masters workshop and Appreciative Inquiry Team

Building experiences. Sources include Dr S Priest (PhD), Dr. Daniel Goleman, Professor Paul Stoltz,

Peter Senge, Paul Power (PhD) - Hay Group, Gallop research, Prosci, Fernando Flores, Humberta

Maturana, Tony Dovale (Life Masters International), Lance Secretan, and the ASTD (SA) American

Society for Training and Development and other specialized sources.

Extensive studies into training effectiveness indicates that less than 10%-12% of what s learnt in

training is applied in the workplace! Add to this the research on memory recall, which indicates

that most of us forget almost 80%+ of what weve learnt within 30 days.

"USA industries spend more than $100 billion annually on trainingnot more than 10% of the

expenditures actually results in transfer to the job." (Baldwin & Ford 1988) (Ford&Weissbein 1997). "Most

of the investment in organizational training...is wasted because most of the knowledge and skills

gained(well over 80% by many estimates) is not fully applied by those employees on the job.

(Broad&Newstrom, 1992). Why? Maybeengagement levels; inspiration, Destiny, Cause & Calling mis-

alignment and greedership.

We can clearly see theres a problem here. Add to this latest studies (Gallup) which undoubtedlyshow that fully engaged staff are your most effective secret weapon in the game for optimised

profits, and profitable client relationships.


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Hopefully, the trend of more women in business and leadership roles in the next century, will balance our focus more

towards people and profits. In with LEADERship, and out with GREEDERship. Maybe we are not all ready But Its time

for Business V3.0!

Imagine the incredible loss of failing to optimally engage the passion, energy, talents and acumen of your staff!

Notwithstanding advances in products, technology, innovation and creativity, most people/teams, are unhappy,

stressed and not thriving in their organizations.

Theyre far from fulfilled, excited happy and healthy. have zero clarity and often, less insight as to the real role they play

in the organizations Vision. Few are clear on the companys highest priorities. People are constantly agitated and

deterred by bad management practice. People feel they cannot effect any change and so they dont! How much

potential are you wasting?

Seehere for my top ten tips (http://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-toptenlessons.htm) of what I have learnt about

business and life. If you are willing toshare some of your wisdom please click here.

http://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-top-ten-lessons-share.htm

Leadership tip Lead your people as if they were volunteers. If you dont, youll only get what you demand/force fromthem. If you doYoull get their full service package, head, heart and soul.

"What concerns me is not the way things are

but rather the way people think they are.

" Epictetus
http://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-toptenlessons.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-toptenlessons.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-toptenlessons.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-toptenlessons.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-toptenlessons.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-top-ten-lessons-share.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-top-ten-lessons-share.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-top-ten-lessons-share.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-top-ten-lessons-share.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-top-ten-lessons-share.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-top-ten-lessons-share.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-top-ten-lessons-share.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-toptenlessons.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-toptenlessons.htm


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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Canada Chile Germany UK Singapore Japan France

Actively Disengaged

Not engaged

Engaged

REAL - People Development - Resilience, Engaging, Action, Learning

Extensive studies reveal that staff

engagement has a direct result on

performance, profits and customer

relationships.

Globally, on average, less than 20% of staff

are fully engaged! How do you fare? The

best-of-the-best are around 50% full

engagement levels. From Gallup research of

10 Million+ Interviews.

Experiential learning overshadows classroom

style learning effectiveness in maintaining

long-term results. This is because experiential

learning engages the head, heart and body of

the learners.

A combination of Metaphoric and Isomorphic debriefing is shown to be the most effective form of ensuring that

learning is transferred to the workplace. Unless effective debriefing is utilised, team building, learning can be totally

wasted. Usually Group-entertainment, commonly disguised as team building, is a total waste of time and money as

the efficacy of results is limited or even none existent. Consider REAL Appreciative team building next time.

Classroom lectures have almost no effectiveness in genuine team-building and trust-building. Head-stuff cannot

transform Heart-stuff. Seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-logical-level-of-results.htm

Adult learners cannot focus effectively for extended periods of learning time, yet companies still embark on all day

class-bound workshops and exhaustive information lectures or info-dumps. Less than 5%-10% will get used back in

the workplace.

Many times people have learnt, and know, what to do, but dont do what they know. Why? Because they dont

feel like it. This relates back to engagement, inspiration, trust and AQ, or resilience levels, that indicate levels of

Learned Helplessnessand poor me attitudes.

Team-building without a clear purpose, will not yield any real long-term value or impact. It could even be counter

productive in some instances. Stop group-entertainment and do REAL Appreciative teambuilding to build your

workplace into a happy, healthy, engaged, productive, trusting environment.

Studies by David Maister in his book, Practice what you preach, shows that there are typically 5 primary areas of

improvement that have a positive and have predictable impact on the bottom- line of professional service

organisations. For more details seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-profit-prophet.htm

David Maister also reveals 7 specific areas that impact the bottom-line that relate to management. Rate yourself in

these areas, and then be brave enough to get your staff to do the same. We can do it anonymously for you if you are

open to discover the path to SmarterHigher Ground Leadership.

o Management listens

o Management values input

o Management is trusted

o Managers are good coaches

o Management communication is good

o Managers practice what they preach

o People treat others with respect

How effective are your managers REALLY? Local leaders control well-being and engagement directly.
http://www.lifemasters.co.za/logical-level-of-results.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/logical-level-of-results.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/logical-level-of-results.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/profit-prophet.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/profit-prophet.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/profit-prophet.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/profit-prophet.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/logical-level-of-results.htm


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Many companies espouse great values and officially commit to them, but the facts show that few leaders,

managers and professionals rarely keep to their word. They, somehow, are just not proficient enough to walk

their talk... consistently!

Research on why training is not applied back in the workplace - Stolovitch and Maurice (1998), and Newstrom (1985). Which of

these blunders do you or your associates commit?

o poor selection of persons to attend training (theyll never have opportunity to apply the training)o lack of clear expectations from supervisors;

o lack of on-job post-training monitoring; support and reinforcement ; Newstrom (1985)

o lack of resources to implement new skills;

o lack of incentives to apply new skills; Newstrom (1985)

o interference from the immediate work environment; Newstrom (1985)

o non-supportive organizational culture; Newstrom (1985)

o trainees' discomfort with change; Newstrom (1985)

o peer pressure to resist applying new Skilss /Knowledge. Newstrom (1985)

Resources, incentives, coaching, engagement and support mechanisms must be in place for training transfer to

succeed and be sustainable.

Remember - training is for dogs. Learning, growing, inspiration and engagement is for humans.

Emotional resonance is the ability to grasp what inspires others, and appeal effectively to it. Leaders/managers who

cannot engage emotional resonance will lose support, loyalty and engagement. People leave people People dont

leave companies.

Gallup research uncovers managements consequence in talent retention by focussing on your peoples strengthsand passion you can reduce disengagement levels dramatically.

The data from the last 5 years research would suggest that much of the epidemic of disengagement is fixable. Hows

your disengagement? Are you ready to take action to improve employee Engagement?

Rebecca Ryan, founding CEO of Next Generation Consulting, found 6 key characteristics of sustainable companies for

the 21st

Century :

o meaning (making the business mission meaningful to workers);

o voice (an ability to have a say in decisions);

o enrichment (opportunity for growth);

o

membership (identity); appreciation;o harmony (work/life balance)


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Core Values conflicts causes a reduction in engagement levels. - A survey of 615 employed Americans conducted byInternational Communications Research, Media, PA. Question : Which of the following best describes your attitude

toward your own core values and how you earn a living?

o You know what your core values are & they are consistent with your employers44%

o You know your core values, but they are not always consistent with your employers30%

o You are not certain what your core values are, but you never feel uncomfortable working for youremployer11%

o You dont feel core values have much to do with the work you do10%

When employee values conflict with the companies ACTUAL values, the outcome is loss Loss of meaning, loss ofengagement, loss of passionloss of trust loss of commitment work avoidance passive disruptive behaviors and

quiet sabotage of implementation tactics and ideas.

This has significant impact on productivity and engagement levels. If companies are going to grow talent andcommitment there has to be alignment of values to create and maintain inspiration and engagement levels. There is

a clear connection between personal core values and emotional commitment to the cause. Its probably even worse

in South Africa right now!

A large aspect of engagement is consciousness, response-ability and self-awareness. Depressive disorders blockthis. The World Health Organization identified major depression as the fourth leading cause of worldwide disease in

1990, causing more disability than either ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease. A fair amount of

depression is oftenjust unconscious negative thinking patterns.

Major depression ranges from 5% to 9% among adults whilst other disabling depressive states include dysthymia (achronic low-grade depression) and minor depression (an episodic, less severe illness) are even higher! You might

discover that up to around 25-50% of your staff have some kind of depression state. A large aspect if this state is

resolvable, without having to resort to fix-me-Im-broken therapy. The question is Do you care enough about

your staff? If you do, do you show it in a manner they appreciate?

To be engaged requires a specific mental attitude I can do Or Optimismall too often many people in the job

are demotivated and pessimistic of the future. No resilience, No passion and therefore no power. See the results

below of improving the resilience and optimism levels in your team.

Insurance Optimistic sales agents outsell the pessimists by 38%

Extremely optimistic sales agents outsell the extreme pessimists by 88%

Pessimistic agents are twice as likely to quit as optimists

Extremely pessimistic agents are three times more likely to quit than extreme optimists

Real Estate Optimistic sales agents outsell the pessimists by 33%

Extremely optimistic sales agents outsell the extreme pessimists by 319%

Automotive Optimistic salespeople outsell the pessimists by 20%

Optimistic managers outsell the pessimists by 27%

Telecommunications Optimistic salespeople outsell the pessimists by 29%Extremely optimistic sales agents outsell the extreme pessimists by 39%

Office Products Optimistic salespeople outsell the pessimists by 29%

Banking Top performing salespeople are 25% more optimistic than below average people

Customer Service Top performing customer service staff are 50% more optimistic than below average people

Research by the Corporate Leadership Council has shown that emotional connections are on average 4 times as

important as the usual rational factors. Emotional connections arise when employees feel:

1) proud of their organizations mission, values and reputation,

2) valued by their supervisor and colleagues, and3) informed and that their opinions and ideas about matters that are important to them are considered by decision-

makers before decisions are made


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"To improve engagement, organizations should focus their efforts on the one or two drivers that will have the mostimpact on engagement for their workforce."

Employee engagement is best defined in very specific, behavioral terms. Engagement is not about creating happyor loyal employees, but about measuring the state of emotional and intelle ctual involvement or commitment of

the workforce. It goes beyond satisfaction (how much I like things here) and commitment (how much I want to be

here) to engagement (how much I want to, and actually do, improve our business results).

It has been discovered that a single item such as intention to stay or leave is an imperfect measure of employee

engagement. Engagement is a multi-faceted construct represented by several behaviors. In engagement, you

measure 3 elements: Say, Stay and Thrive. Employees are engaged when they:

o Speak positively about the organization to co-workers, potential employees and customerso Have an intense desire to be a member of the organization,o Exert extra effort and are dedicated to doing the very best job possible to contribute to the organization's

business success

Developing the employee or develop the whole personMost managers dont understand the real difference

between developing the employee and developing the person.o Develop the Employee = Typical training such as business skills, selling skills, product knowledge, and client

service are essential strategic actions, as mechanisms to build employee workplace competencies. - not

sustainable growth.

o Developing the whole person includes coaching and education on emotional intelligence, adversity

intelligence / AQ, leadership, self mastery, teamwork, decision making, financial intelligence, etc actions

focused on personal development that build a foundation for growth and greater contribution and

engagement.

By developing the whole person your talent management process becomes more effective in the longer term plusyour engagement levels rise.

In tough times most managers and leaders turn to cost-cutting and greater pressure on their people as their reactionto a shift in business landscape. They unwittingly are killing the goose that lays their golden eggs. In times of

economic downturn the people are the key success differentiator. Greedership, in attempting to induce greater

performance out of their teams by a harder focus on measurement and longer hours, will only achieve the converse

and damage trust, the health of their workplace culture

The prime differentiating factor of people performance in difficult times is their management and leadership byawake and aware coaches, who understand how and will be able to, bring out their teams best in an optimized

and sustainable manner.

If you analyse the true role of Management We can see that its the art of paying attention. All too often managersreally pay attention to half of the job. If you are a real leader as opposed to a greeder then Business isnt just a

way of making more money for yourself and the shareholders.

Research by Employee Watch, reveals that nearly 80% of employees are reluctant to talk to their employers aboutworkplace concerns, problems, and improper incidents because of:

o Fear of termination (or some kind of retribution just shows how much integrity some people have)

o Fear of reprisals by coworkers (adds to the mis-trust tax you are paying!

o A belief that no meaningful response will be taken as a result of their report (Reveals that management has lost

credibility!)

The true power of a business is a way to achieve psychological and spiritual goals for all of the stakeholders. HighVoltage Leadership enables us to meet and work with others; to create value and meaning through products and

services that are beneficial to others; and to assist stakeholders in achieving their goals of survival, thrival, meaning

and fulfillment.

Managers and supervisors are the direct controllers and influencers of employee engagement levels


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Engagement Focus

There are 2 types of employee commitment 1. 'Rational Commitment'and 2. 'Emotional Commitment'. The outputof these are 'Discretionary Effort' [employee willingness to go "above and beyond] and 'Intent to stay with my boss'.

Staff emotional commitment aspects builds CUSTOMER emotional Commitment.

The primary 6 groups of employee engagement drivers are: Senior Leaders, Organizational Culture, Direct Managerseffectiveness, Corporate Integrity Code, Compensation and Benefits, Training and Development.

Engagement Theory #1 10:6:2 theory: With a 10 % increase in employee engagement there is a 6% increase in

discretionary effort and 2% increase in performance.

Engagement Theory #2 Talent Retention 10:9 theory: With 10% increase in commitment there is 9% decrease instaff leaving the company.

21 Powerful Points on Employee Engagement From the UK MacLeod EE Report- Crown copyright

Does engagement make a difference? The answer is an unequivocal YES. In the course of the past eight months we

have seen many examples of companies and organisations where performance and profitability have beentransformed by employee engagement; we have met many employees who are only too keen to explain how their

working lives have been transformed; and we have read many studies which show a clear correlation between

engagement and performance and most importantly between improving engagement and improving performance.

The heart of the workplace. Engagement, going to the heart of the workplace relationship between employee andemployer, can be a key to unlocking productivity and to transforming the working lives of many people for whom

Monday morning is an especially low point of the week.

Learn how good you can be. As Sir Alan Jones, Chairman Emeritus of Toyota UK said: Wherever you work, your job

as a manager is to make your people be the best they can be and usually they dont know just how good they

could be. Itsindividuals that make the difference.

No cookie cutters for employee engagement. The way employee engagement operates can take many forms andthe best models are those which have been custom-developed for the institution.

A triple play. Engagement is about establishing mutual respect in the workplace for what people can do and be,

given the right context, which serves us all, as individual employees, as companies and organisations and as

consumers of public services. It is our firm belief that it can be a triple win: for the individual at work, the enterprise

or service, and for the country as a whole.

The scent of engagement. You sort of smell it, dont you, that engagement of people as people. What goes on in

meetings, how people talk to each other. You get the sense of energy, engagement, commitment, belief in what the

organisation stands for, is how Lord Currie, former Chair of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) and Dean of Cass

Business School, puts it.

As a number of business leaders told us, You know it when you see it.

1 of many definitions. Engagement is about creating opportunities for employees to connect with their colleagues,

managers and wider organisation. It is also about creating an environment where employees are inspired to want to

connect with their work and really care about doing a good jobIt is a concept that places flexibility, change and

continuous improvement (CANI) at the heart of what it means to be an employee and an employer in a twenty-first

century workplace. (Professor Katie Truss1)

Make it authentic. Although improved performance and productivity is at the heart of engagement, it cannot be

achieved by a mechanistic approach which tries to extract discretionary effort by manipulating employees

commitment and emotions. Employees see through such attempts very quickly; they lead instead to cynicism and

disillusionment. By contrast, engaged employees freely and willingly give discretionary effort, not as an add on, but

as an integral part of their daily activity at work.

More than a survey. It is also clear that simply doing a survey and publishing the results is not the same as anengagement strategy. Measuring engagement is simply a tool to allow you to find out how engaged your people are.


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Engagement = Performance. Levels of engagement matter because employee engagement can correlate with

performance. Even more significantly, there is evidence that improving engagement correlates with improving

performance and this is at the heart of our argument why employee engagement matters.

The employee benefit of engagement. Engagement is not just about macro-economics. There is a measurable andsignificant win for the individual engaged employee. Studies in this field demonstrate beyond doubt that individuals

OPTIMISE their psychological well-being when they are engaged in meaningful work that provides positive emotional

experiences. As our working lives extend with growing longevity, people will want and demand a greater sense of

well-being at work.

Happy@Work. 86% of engaged employees say they very often feel happy at work, as against 11 per cent of the

disengaged. Forty-five per cent of the engaged say they get a great deal of their life happiness from work, against

eight per cent of the disengaged. (Gallup 2006)

4 Major Drivers of Engagement.

1. Leadership which ensures a strong, transparent and explicit organisational culture which gives

employees a line of sight between their job and the vision and aims of the organisation.

2. Engaging managers who offer clarity, appreciation of employees effort and contribution, who treattheir people as individuals and who ensure that work is organised efficiently and effectively so that

employees feel they are valued, and equipped and supported to do their job.

3. Employees feeling they are able to voice their ideas and be listened to, both about how they do their job

and in decision-making in their own department, with joint sharing of problems and challenges and a

commitment to arrive at joint solutions.

4. A belief among employees that the organisation lives its valueswalks its talk, and that espoused

behavioural norms are adhered to, resulting in increased trust levels and a higher sense of integrity and

belonging.

The evidence is there. As John Purcell told us. Despite the difficulties and weaknesses it is hard to ignore the

volume of studies which show, to varying degrees, with varying sophistication, a positive relationship between high

performance/involvement work practices and outcome measures.

Disengagement is more than a bad day. Despite the compelling case for employee engagement, we know that a

significant percentage of the workforce feel disconnected from the work they do and the people they work for.

Whilst accepting that all of us are capable of having a badday at work we do not accept the inevitability of work

being just one bad day after another.

Get planning and doing. Accor report that 75 per cent of leaders have no engagement plan or strategy even though

90 per cent say engagement impacts on business success.

Managing to Engage.An engaging manager is at the heart of success in engaging the workforce. Accentures internal

research showed that 80 per cent of the variation in engagement levels was down to the line manager. As a result,employees most important relationship at work is with their line manager; people join organisations, but they leave

managers.

Engaging Managers Actions. Firstly, engaging managers offer clarity for what is expected from individual members

of staff, which involves some stretch, and much appreciation and feedback/coaching and training. The second key

area is treating their people as individuals, with fairness and respect and with a concern for the employees well -

being. Thirdly, managers have a very important role in ensuring that work is designed efficiently and effectively.


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The voice of engagement. The Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work for found that feeling listened to was the

most important factor in determining how much respondents valued their organisation. Being heard reinforces a

sense of belonging within an organisation and a belief that ones actions can have an impact. Richard Baker, Non-

executive Chairman of Virgin Active (and former CEO of Alliance Boots) told us: Employee morale is the first step to

productivity improvements. Give your people a damn good listening to, and act on what you learn.

The 5 Elements of Wellbeing: (Rath and Harter)

1. Career/Workplace Wellbeing

2. Social & Family Wellbeing

3. Financial Wellbeing4. Physical /Energetic Wellbeing

5. Community Wellbeing

1. Research reveals that only 20% of people actually like what they do at work each day.

2. Actively disengaged employees are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression over the next 12 months.

3. When you apply your strengths at work you are more engaged, and its more likely that you feel energized foryour 40 hours a week, instead of feeling burned out after just 20 hours of the week.

4. Managers can and do contribute in varyingy ways (strong positive or negative) to an employees career well-

being state.

5. We need sufficient (3-6 hours of) social time to have a thriving day6. Just 20 minutes of basic exercise can boost your mood for the remainder of the day.

The role of leaders and managers.

Leaders and managers who care about their employees have a significant impact on both employee engagement and

wellbeing. they see the growth of their employees as an end in itself not just a means to an end. They know there is now

way an employee will love an organization that doesnt have a heart. Overall what is best for the employee is also best

for the organization. Caring leaders and managers know that caring is not a feeling or noun it is a verb that requires that

they demonstrate continual caring for the people who report to them.

(Rath and Harter)

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look atchange.

Recent Research conducted among employees in 11 countries by pan-EMEA research shows that the presence ofpotted plants and flowers in the workplace contributes more to productivity than the location of the office or vicinity

of shops or restaurants.

The survey reveals that office plants and flowers boost the individual productivity of 55% respondents compared

with the location of the office or the vicinity of shops and restaurants (38% and 34% respectively).

According to the research, it is managers who are most likely to generate return on investment (ROI) from activities

traditionally considered as downtime, with 74% managers deriving value-add from their morning coffee break and

66% from lunch with colleagues, compared to figures of 64% and 40% respectively for non-managers.

Findings also showed a strong correlation between the ability to network with colleagues and workplace efficiency.

Overall, respondents felt that lunch hours with colleagues (60%) were three times more productive than lunch hours

alone (20%).

Similar findings were revealed with respect to going out with or without colleagues after work an evening out with

colleagues after work is 57% more likely to generate value for the company than an evening spent alone.

Insight:Managers and employees alike derive benefits from downtime in the office, which is rarely associated with

ROI, Taking a break allows employees to mentally disengage from their job, which reduces fatigue, buffers stress

and will ultimately lead to workplace efficiency and productivity.


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Trust and Communication

Touch plays one of the strongest roles in building workplace trust levels. The higher the trust levels, the lower theback-stabbing threat levels. As it is, the average person in the politically active corporate war -zone expends 50%

to 75% or more, of their daily energy / attention / focus / productivity on self-preservation and protection. Unless

this is addressed, most performance enhancement initiatives will not succeed.

Trust (and trust sub-aspects: acceptance, believability, confidentiality, dependability, encouragement) plays a strong

role in workplace performance and productivity results. Its also a large part of stress reduction and positive and

supportive relationships in the workplace.

seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-trust-is-a-must.htm

Often internal company confusion is created by poor communication on company vision, mission, key values, goals,

contribution to purpose, clarity of purpose and organisational needs. Typically less than 5%-15% of staff has a clear

picture of the business mission, values and the role they play in achieving success, individually, and for the company.

This creates execution challenges.

Most companies have low levels of Trust. This has a direct and negative impact on the workplace environment,

personal emo-energetic state, productivity levels, stress levels, health, service and learning application levels. This

also directly impacts your bottom-line.

Low trust workplace cultures drain energy, resilience and engagement levels. When high stress levels grow to be the

norm (Chronic), high levels of self-protection reduces communications, trust, truth and creativity. The primary

challenge is that most managers, and leaders, typically have technical hard skills to solve their critical workplace soft

issues. Too often these leaders are so cold and compassionless that they just dont have the requisite softer human

skills to do an effective job of building strong internal relationships with their teams.

Seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-truth-about-stress.htm

Many leaders would be stunned to see how few people really have a clear idea of, and buy-in to, the companies

Mission, and the role they play in achieving this outcome. Most dont trust their leaders and managers.

Rememberleaders get things done through others. We have to adopt a new way of inspiring and engaging people

to achieve the intended outcomes in an environment based upon trust. At any time less than 30% of your staff aretypically fully engaged. So what can you do today to alter this?

Regular, open, honest communication is one of the best mechanisms to enliven a workplace, yet so few utilise the

opportunity and either do too little, to late, or too stuffy. Try it tomorrow. Talk, face-to-face, with some of your

lower levels of staff.

Make it totally safe enough for them to tell you their truth, to share what they think, believe and feel. You may be

very surprised at what you find. You may also have created/facilitated such a fear-based environment that you learn

out nothing of real value.

Seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-corporate-team-building.htm

Rudeness, arrogance, indifference, shouting, volatile displays and outbursts of anger are clear displays of lack ofcontrol, lack of respect for self, and lack of respect for others, and result in highly dis-engaged workplaces, which

finally affects profits!

The following research by Christine Pearson (1999) Workplace Incivility: The Targets Eye View, University of North

Carolina revels core issues. How do you rate in these 2 areas? No excuses please! (See also

www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-respect.htm)

o Workplace civility has fallen dramatically in the past 10 years

o Men are 7 times more likely to be rude or insensitive to underlings than to superiors
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According to Watson Wyatt research in 2002, Organizations with high trust outperform organizations with low trust

by nearly3 times.In our experience and research, trust is far lower than management believes! What are your Trust

levels really like?Are you paying Trust TAX, but dont know it yet? Our Appreciative team building process can shift

trust levels dramatically.

"Only 39% of the workforce trusted their senior managers, while only 45% had confidence in their management's

abilities. "In the US, Europe and Japan, fewer than 30% of opinion leaders say that CEO's or CFO's are credible

sources of information."-- Watson Wyatt Survey of 12,000 Workers

Organizations with high trust outperform organizations with low trust by nearly 3x- Watson Wyatt 2002

Remember, when you were made a leader, you werent given a crown, you were given a responsibility to bring out the

bestin others. For that, your people need to trust you.- Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric.

(Today, we believe its also your responsibility as a leader to ensure sufficient

financial intelligence & long term survivability for your staff)

Organizations with high trust outperform organizations with low trust by nearly 3x in total return to shareholders-Watson Wyatt 2002

Think about REAL staff costs / Talent retention...the second most expensive event that happens with regards to

human capital is when your smart, capable, engaged people quit and leave your company. However the most

expensive issue that happens is when your smart, capable people quit, reduce engagement and then still stay on.

Disengaged employees are very expensive and often invisible. Real Engagement flows from trust, and trust also flows

out of good leadership and engagement. They mutually reinforce each other.

Studies by the Gallup reveals that 96% of engaged employees trust their leaders. And 46% of disengaged employees

trust their leaders. Gallup puts a price tag of around $300 billion per year on disengagement in the US.

We can see Distrust in the silo mentality we regularly see in companies. The visible or surface relationships seem

friendly, but right beneath the thin social veneer there's often uncertainty, doubt or outright distrust and suspicion.

Trust levels make up 60 percent of the criteria used by Fortune magazine in its 100 Best Companies to Work For.

A 2005 study found that over a seven year period, high-trust companies earned more than four times the return of

the market at large.

Recent research By Stephen CoveySpeed of Trust, reveals primary areas of concern for leaders...

1. Increasing Accountability - 39%

2. Collaboration - 38%

3. Clarifying Expectations - 36%4. Listening First - 35%

5. Engagement - 34%

6. Gossiping and Politics - 34%

7. Extending Trust - 30%

8. Getting Results in a Way That Inspires Trust - 28%

9. Deepening Relationships - 25%

Trust is a big issue in many companies today. Our research reveals the genuine impact this is having on talent

retention, meaning and employee engagement levels.


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The Value of Coaching Almost all training and performance enhancement interventions are short lived unless followed up with coaching

and other forms of accountability and involvement and/or adoption of responsibility. Research reveals that with

normal training methods performance gains almost always revert back to initial baseline measures (+/- 5%-10%)

within 6 months. See www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-why-coaching.htm

Off-the-shelf (one size fits all) training programmes (Indoor/Outdoor) have proven to be considerably less effectivethan customised, flexible, experiential, engaging, outcomes-based programmes that are supported with individual

and group coaching.

Solution focussed facilitation/coaching and appreciative team building delivers substantially greater results thanproblem solving/focussed facilitation. Focus and build on what is already in the person and not whats been left out.

Build on existing strengths to make weaknesses irrelevant.

Team Building, facilitation and coaching processes have matured and evolved extensively over the last 60 years. The

most potent strategies to enhance results include, Metaphoric and Isomorphic framing, and direct/indirect front-

loading the experiences, direct participation, Appreciative Team Building and Optimum engagement and talent

activation. This also includes Ontological coaching with its paradigms of the persons way of Being language,

emotions and body, along withAdversity Intelligencewhich is at the C.O.R.E. of your results.

The soft stuff is really the hard stuff that can deliver greatest ROIs. All of the research from Gallups interviews of

over 10 Million customers, 3 Million employees and 200,000 managers, indicates that the soft stuff is where the real

power lies buried. Addressing these hidden areas and adding appreciative inquiry and Resilience/Results coaching to

the mix, can deliver ROIs of 500%+. Are you missing out here? Talk to us about how we can collaborate to shift your

workplace performance with Ai Plus Team building.

Just as any sports professional who is committed to achieving extraordinary results has a coach, so savvy managers

must ensure that AQ/ resiliency, and talent-fitting, coaching becomes their organisations most powerful, and cost-

effective, foundation of staff development and results delivery. Seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-executive-

coaching.htm

Astute coaches know that soft skills have a vastly superior impact on long-term performance and productivity than

hard-skills training. Many companies, who choose to ignore this, lose out on capitalising on their staffs trapped,untapped dis-engaged potential. As Ontological Coaching research reveals, unless shifts are made in the way of

Being the 3 dimensions of Language, Body and Emotion, any change will be transitory just like motivational-

talks and group-entertainment.

Generally organisations use training to solve symptoms whilst the causes of real their challenges continue to go

unaddressed.Are you brave enough to ask the difficult question; "Am I part of the problem?Unless underlying issues

are revealed and resolved, companies will continue to waste their training spend. Read the excellent book The fish

stinks from the head byBarton Goldsmith, Ph.D. to get a perspective. Fix the cause not the symptom.

The move from control and management, to coaching and support, will be a tricky one for some leaders. Itt has been

found that high levels of Resilience orAdversity Intelligence(AQ) and Trust are required to develop and expand this

new capacity for delivery in our ever-changing hi-tech world.

Human capacity is composed of talents, aptitudes, skills, experience, knowledge, will, attitude & energy. As

Required-Capacity demands increases through business ever increasing challenges, the greatest test, and task, for

leaders, is to tap into their staffs Existing Capacity and to increase Accessed-Capacity levels. The problem is that

Existing-Capacity and Accessed-Capacity levels SHRINK under adversity, low trust, low engagement and low energy

levels. A bad leader can easily destroy the workplace energetics.

From my research, feedback from HR professionals and company leaders, it is evident that coaching, as amanagement activity and competence, is rapidly becoming a core requirement of most companies to ensure desired

results are achieved in a sustainable fashion. For further research insights..

seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-HCM_graphs.htm

Its also great to see the growing numbers of women who are engaging the services of a coach to fast-track and

support them in their leadership roles. The wave of women in leadership roles in business is growing, albeit at asomewhat slow pace. I believe women will bring a more sustainable dynamic to the business playing field as they
http://www.lifemasters.co.za/why-coaching.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/why-coaching.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-resilience-aq-intro.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-resilience-aq-intro.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-resilience-aq-intro.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/executive-coaching.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/executive-coaching.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/executive-coaching.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/executive-coaching.htmhttp://www/lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-resilience-Aq-intro.htmhttp://www/lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-resilience-Aq-intro.htmhttp://www/lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-resilience-Aq-intro.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/HCM_graphs.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/HCM_graphs.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/HCM_graphs.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/HCM_graphs.htmhttp://www/lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-resilience-Aq-intro.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/executive-coaching.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/executive-coaching.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-resilience-aq-intro.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/why-coaching.htm


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tend to value people and profits.

Seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-coaching-for-wonderwoman.htm

FORTUNE magazine (May 2002) reported on the ROI of Metropolitan Life Financial Services' intensive coaching

program with part of its retail sales team. Productivity among those salespeople coached increased by an average of

35%, while 50% identified new markets to develop.

Most importantly, Metropolitan retained all of the sales people who were coached.Since industry statistics show that each salesman leaving a company with 3 years' experience, cost $140,000 to

replace. In all, the coaching program, which cost about $620,000, delivered $3.2 million in measurable gains.

Research reveals that at least 90% of Americas industry training fails to result in transfer to the job Ford & Weissbein1997.

The impact of common training

practices is shockingly small, no more

than 20% of investment in training

pays of in transfer to the job Brinkerhoff & Gill 1994.

Do you really believe South Africas

stats are any different? The good

news is that effective coaching can

reverse this fact. By adding coaching

to your mix you can achieve far

greater levels of skill, engagement

and talent application.

Learning: Regular exposure to

information is required, but not a

once-off-flooding of information.

Most research reveals that adultlearning doesnt work in that way. People learn best with relevant, incremental, just-in-time exposure that can fit or

relate to their already learnt knowledge base.

Before you send staff on any further training ask us to show you how our AQ coaching can provide a far better

return on investment and a more sustainable competency base for longer periods of time, with greater engagement

levels.

Some companies are looking to develop in-house coaching as their preferred coaching approach. Whilst this may

have its merits, it also has strong downsides. In-house coaching usually still incorporates, or is tainted by, the

politics and history of the workspace. Often confidentiality, trust , fear, honesty etc are compromised and the

coaching effectiveness falls.

A balance of internal and external coaching is the best approach as this offers a wider variety of energy, perspectives

and insights, and also offers a choice for people who may have issues with internal coaches and politics of the

workplace.

Research by Elliot Jacques on the Requisite Organisation reveals that levels of work is a critical aspect to consider

when engaging new staff, considering a person for promotion and when choosing a coach for a leader or manager.
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When selecting a candidate to be coached, ensure that key stakeholders are involved as well in a few specific areas.

o 1. Let go of past stuff focus on the can-do-now vs did-do-then.

o 2. Use the Appreciative Enquiry approach as a positive approach and avoid judging, criticism, cynicism

or sarcasm.

o 3. Tell the truth in a radical, but humane way.

o 4. Stakeholders are also to choose some area of improvement and commit to action. Basically become

loving critics.

When choosing a coach make sure they make you uncomfortable take you beyond the edge of your comfortzone. Ask your coach to work with you to ensure you become REAL Responsible, Empowering, Accountable and

Loving.

Remember that 99% of coaching success revolves around honesty, truth, integrity and trust and a coach that will

stretch you beyond your restrictive comfort zone and hold you accountable to deliver on your agreements.

It seems that the one of the primary trends that serious leaders are requesting coaching on, is how to move

themselves from Ruling to Serving. Remember humble leaders dont think less of themselves, they just think

about themselves less Ken Blanchard.

Dont be tempted to engage a coach for less than 6 -12 months if you are serious about sustainable behaviour shiftsand positive, realistic results. Its typically taken the person a lifetime to create their current space Have a

heart!...It takes a while to install, instil and inculcate new, more productive behaviours and beliefs.

When considering engaging the services of a coach seriously consider engaging a coach of the opposite gender to

gain new insight and perspectives. In some instances they can offer insights and perspectives that would be very

valuable to you. seeDiscover the Power of opposites

When engaging your coach, ensure that you have a mind-set shift of the head and the heart, and not just a mental

skill-set shift. This facilitates sustainable new actions and behaviours in the medium to longer term that will impact

all areas of the business and your life.

We are busy coaching a clients Key accounts team for the last 3 months. Sales have improved over 50%

(R950k/month to 1,5 Million/.Month) during that time. Half of the coaching is work based and the other half is

personal development based. If coaching could improve your sales figures by 50% or more Wouldt it be smart to

get one that could help your team FAST?

"We can never obtain peace in the world if we neglect

our inner world and don't make peace with ourselves."

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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Energy, Innergy & Health

Finally, we have discovered that maximisation is not sustainable as a leadership / management paradigm.Optimisation is the approach to sustainable business leadership.

UK employers don't seem to care about the well-being of their staff, which in turn is reducing the country'sproductivity, research has found.

o A survey commissioned by Business-In-the-Community (BITC) found that one-third of workers

feel their health is neglected at work, while six in 10 believe their employer does not regard

employees as assets worthy of investment.

o Almost half of staff surveyed claim employer apathy about employee wellbeing has taken its toll

on workplace productivity, with 55% of respondents complaining ofstress,depression(38%) and

panic attacks (22%). 44% of respondents said they were discouraged from taking days off when

unwell.

Extensive Gallup research reveals that many CEOs, and leaders, don't understand what makes their staff tick. Theydon't know how to get the best performance out of most of their people. They can't say where their companies are

strongest or weakest - or why its so. The future challenge for leaders is about getting each individual to be more

productive, more focused, more fulfilled and more engaged and more resilient than they were yesterday." In

essence the leaders and managers, job is to improve the ratio of engaged to actively disengaged workers with Love,

not Fear!

One of the most powerful and least understood aspects of business is how an emotional connection betweenmanagement, employees and customers provides a sustainable competitive advantage. Unless the people who are

part of a business or the team feel a sense of connectionan emotional bond that promotes trust, engagement,

cooperation and esprit de corps they will never reach their potential as individuals, nor will the organization fully

optimize its resources."

Your first and foremost job as a leader is to take charge of your own energy

and then help orchestrate the energy of those around you.

Peter Drucker, author ofThe Effective Executive
http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/05/02/40415/health-and-wellbeing-benefits-are-being-used-to-attract-and-retain-top-hr-staff.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/05/02/40415/health-and-wellbeing-benefits-are-being-used-to-attract-and-retain-top-hr-staff.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/09/12/42111/policy-clinic-workplace-stress.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/09/12/42111/policy-clinic-workplace-stress.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/10/01/42634/tooled-up-to-tackle-absence.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/10/01/42634/tooled-up-to-tackle-absence.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/10/01/42634/tooled-up-to-tackle-absence.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/10/01/42634/tooled-up-to-tackle-absence.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/09/12/42111/policy-clinic-workplace-stress.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/05/02/40415/health-and-wellbeing-benefits-are-being-used-to-attract-and-retain-top-hr-staff.html


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New Emotional Economy, Appreciative Inquiry, Team Building

www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-emotional-economy.htm or Life-masters-appreciative-inquiry.htm

We are moving away from Force towards Power along a scale of (force) coercive, authoritative, affinitive,

democratic, pace-setting and coaching (power). Old style, fear-based, leaders still dont seem to understand that

force does not have any place in the era of intellectual property and the emo-energetic emotional economy.www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-powerforce.htm

Studies show that success is typically 70%-80%+ psychological/emotional and 20%-30%, or less, skill dependant. Byaddressing the whole person - head, heart & soul, not just skill or knowledge (IQ / head stuff), we can begin to tap

into the almost unlimited potential available through our staff. Yore probably harnessing less than 20% of the talent

in your staff & probably have less than a 25%-30% engaged factor!

True behavioural change happens when the change is driven by powerful emotional engagement, and helps people

to achieve meaningful personal goals in a context that is safe, supportive and appreciative. Therefore we need to

create ways in which people can concurrently achieve personal and organisational goals for greatest results in a

culture of support and appreciation

- in a sustainable way.

In most admired, successful

companies studies corroborate that

off-the-shelf-products have nil

usage, whereas coaching is applied

260% more than in lesser

performing organisations. Even in

team-building (usually group

entertainment) this is often true.

Dr. Simon Priests research into

corporate adventure training reveals

that many corporate team-building

and trust-building interventions

dont last and dont achieve the

desired results for very long, due to

lack of follow-up and focus and

other pre event aspects. Typical results only last 3 to 6 months. (See graph right)

We (LMI) have numerous results with ourclients, where we have shown that the effects of our Appreciative Team-

Building Plus and staff development interventions have been maintained for over 24 months, and longer, as we are

able to facilitate a shift from the head to a heart-centric approach. By enabling and building trust, truth,

participation, appreciation, engagement and authentic connection, the workplace becomes a great place to work.

People become INSPIRED and ENGAGED, and the team building becomes REAL team building.

Motivation lasts a moment personal transformation lasts a lifetime. Dont waste any more money on short-lived

motivational type team-building (group entertainment0 interventions. Long-term success is built by starting from

deep inside. It starts by addressing the heart and engaging the complete person Head, Heart and Soul. Real team

building delivers real ROI results. seewww.lifemasters.co.za/corporate-team-building.htm

We know from experience, and from available research, that staff and customer Engagement is crucial to

profitability, and that disengagement and low trust is costly. So knowing this core truth, what percentage of your

day, and your business effort, is being applied to ensure full engagement? What could you do that would make the

most difference? Seewww.lifemasters.co.za for a possible solution
http://www.lifemasters.co.za/emotional-economy.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/emotional-economy.htmhttp://life-masters-appreciative-inquiry.htm/http://life-masters-appreciative-inquiry.htm/http://www.lifemasters.co.za/powerforce.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/powerforce.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/lifemasters-testimonials.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/lifemasters-testimonials.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/lifemasters-testimonials.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/corporate-team-building.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/corporate-team-building.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/corporate-team-building.htmhttp://www.lifemasters/http://www.lifemasters/http://www.lifemasters/http://www.lifemasters/http://www.lifemasters.co.za/corporate-team-building.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/lifemasters-testimonials.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/powerforce.htmhttp://life-masters-appreciative-inquiry.htm/http://www.lifemasters.co.za/emotional-economy.htm


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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

3Months 6Months 9Months 12Months >12Months

Very Effective

Somewhat

Not effective

Appreciative Inquiry Team Building Our experience reveals that Appreciative Inquiry Team Building results can be

accelerated and extended through the addition of pre event preparation that reduces individual static and

interpersonal conflict, reduces cynicism, increases

trust and collaboration and group safety.

Coaching follow up also ensure execution and

retention of workshop insights, tools andexperience.

Coaching interventions lasting 6 to 12 months

typically provides the greatest results in achieving

intended outcomes. See attached graph on right for

study relating to coachee satisfaction levels.

Leaders are questioners and listeners. Like coaches,

leaders need to articulate a clear vision, lead by

example, and ask lots of powerful questions: What

motivates them? Which of their needs are being met? Which are not? How can you help them? Find out how people

want to be treated and treat them that way. What impact will supporting them have on your business? Listening to,

and acting on, the needs of employees helps business in the short-term and strengthens it over the long-term. Its all

about talent retention.

Change is now the new normal. It always was the norm in nature; its now the norm in business. If you cannot

Zoom (ongoing constant incremental change), you are destined to struggle against the tide of ever-increasing

competition and challenges.

Emotions control productivity, decisions, engagement, learning and results more than intelligence. Anger, anxiety,

uncertainty and depression damage your staffs energy, health, outlook and engagement levels. High personal

hostility levels increases the likelihood of early death by 700%. How good is your workplace environment really?

www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-eq-anger.htm

Elevated levels of anger and frustration increase the likelihood of cardiac problems by 200%+. It also reduces the

quality of relationships, engagement, productivity and profits. Real trust and a new leadership approach are

required to defuse these situations for long-term success.

Seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-trust-is-a-must.htm

Anxiety and fear can be the greatest contributor to negative stress which in turn creates low productivity, low

resilience, high protection, high absenteeism and finally low engagement. These states/reactions also impair a

persons ability to learn, be creative, and apply existing knowledge and skills to effectively initiate and maintain

strong and profitable relationships, and ultimately productivity.

www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-anxiety-cost.htm

More than 50% of employees lack motivation to keep on learning and improving - Hay Group. We (LMI) believe

that this is symptomatic of low awareness/energy levels caused by internal emo-energetic static and reactions to theexternal environment. Gallups research reveals that fully engaged levels are around 10% to 20%, not -engaged

around 60%-80% and actively-disengaged levels are around 12% to 30%!

From my research into Bruce Liptons - Biology of Belief, I believe that a substantial amount of the low productivity

symptoms are caused by the environmental and attitudinal energies and behaviours of the leadership and

management. Almost 50% of results can be context controlled.

AQ or resilienceis becoming one of the most important mindsets and criteria in selecting and developing staff. As a

minimum, in todays highly competitive environment, people are required, and assumed, to have a reasonably good

IQ. The real challenges are that in order to be successful on the current playing field of business, EQ - Emotional

Intelligence, AQ - Adversity Intelligence, talent use and XQ-Implementation/action ability are the determining

dimensions that ensure success over the longer term. What is the use of how much you know or can do, if you are

unable to deliver under the challenges of lifes adversities and pressures?
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Customer-centric organisations necessitate people who can initiate, build and sustain strong relationships that can

endure almost any storm or problem. This is clearly identified and addressed through the dimensions of engagement

levels, significance and personal emo-energetic consciousness states and levels. see www.lifemasters.co.za/life-

masters-levels-of-consciousness.htm

As pressure and stress mounts most peoples abilities and intention to use their skills and competencies is reduced.

Adversity Intelligence or Resilience development can often reverse this process. People with high AQ can think andact more clearly under pressure. The higher your AQ the better you can handle stress, change, pressure etc.

Beyond survival, personal significance is the strongest driver for human achievement. Significance is about

mattering, about being PurposeFULL. It intrinsically motivates all of our life decisions. The problem is most

organisational environments and leaders unknowingly destroy and ignore this dimension. Ask your staff when last

they felt significant in you workplace. You may get a big surprise on how long ago it was.

Of the 21 CRM criteria identified as critical to business success4 of the top 5 criteria are directly impacted by the

human element (Read soft stuff). This concurs with Gallups research where the Human Element is recognised as the

defining competitive advantage. seewww.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-competitive-advantage.htm

Frequently CRM and sales solutions that are human-centric will out perform tehno/skill -centric solutions. Almost

80% of techo-centric CRM initiatives prove inadequate in the long run. Make sure you sufficiently address the human

element in any CRM installation.

Elevated Emotional Intelligence is critical for higher levels of leadership/management. Studies indicate that theprevalent reasons executives go off-the-rails are Inflexibility and poor relationship skills EQ skills and high

personal static or lo-voltage leadership. This is insufficient energy / awareness / consciousness to deal with their

internal and external environment.

Leadership development in the 21st

century must engage the heart as well as the head. Its a call to growth in

ourselves and in our relationships (Staff and Clients) Hay Group.

Talented individuals in apt and empowering roles can, and do, produce substantially more than ordinary employees

in talent restrictive roles. It is the managers role and responsibility to ensure a correct fit between talent and rolefunction/requirements, and to create a vibrant context for success, acting as a coach rather than a process manager.

By the time your staff are revealing to customers how bad your workplace is, its definitely time for

leadership/management to take a long hard no-holds-barred look at themselves and reflect their use of force and

the lack of truthful, trustful, caring, powerful leadership. Remember the title of the book The fish rots from the

head.

engage front line staff by asking them to become the voice of your customers. Involve them in product or service

design. Free them from the chains of transactional measures, recognise their importance as insight workers, for

they probably understand, more than you, what customers want after all they deal with them day to day. They

also understand what the possible solutions could be, because they know your business and the clients primary

needs,

Once you understand the power of emotions, and the limitations and restrictions created internally by moods, you

will be able to begin to unleash your staffs untapped talents , energy and potential, and begin to elevate their

engagement, creativity and productivity.

With the shift from hard-selling to consultative relationships, the power of Human Element CRM is the area ofopportunity that offers greatest leverage for the least cost, and, for the longest term effectiveness. The new

performance dimension is Engagement levels. What are you doing to manage this? www.lifemasters.co.za/life-

masters-customercentric.htm

The new business power is heart-based. The new economy is the Emotional Economy. We can now measure,

monitor and manage the dimensions required to ensure full engagement, commitment and full participation fromour people and customers. Its time you took a look at your opportunity to optimise on your staffs potential and

talent? www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-employee-support.htm
http://www.lifemasters.co.za/levels-of-consciousness.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/levels-of-consciousness.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/levels-of-consciousness.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/competitive-advantage.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/competitive-advantage.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/competitive-advantage.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/customercentric.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/customercentric.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/customercentric.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/employee-support.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/employee-support.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/employee-support.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/customercentric.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/customercentric.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/competitive-advantage.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/levels-of-consciousness.htmhttp://www.lifemasters.co.za/levels-of-consciousness.htm


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Emotions set our highest level goals. These include how hard we work, how committed we are, and how loyal we

stay to a brand or company. Emotions drive decisions. Real emotions create real relationships. Emotional

engagement increases speed of learning. Emotional engagement increases memory retention. Emotional

engagement is your passport to greater profits. Wake up to the power of Soul-based/ enlightened Higher-Ground

Leadership practices & strategies or lose out.

Keystone Management Services study found consistent and strong differences about how senior, middle and non-managers viewed their workplace culture.

o More than 40 per cent of employees surveyed said that negative behaviour was rife in their workplace, yetonly 20 per cent of senior managers felt this behaviour was commonplace,

o In contrast 72 per cent of senior managers said staff often displayed positive, solutions-oriented mind sets,while only 50 per cent of non-managers felt this behaviour was commonly showed.

o Overall 51 per cent of senior managers rated their workplace culture highly, compared to 28 per cent ofmiddle managers and 29 per cent of non managers,.

o The REAL issues about this excellent study is that it is clear that senior managers seem to be unaware ofculture and disengagement problems that exist - which means its unlikely that they feel the need to

address these fundamental issues.

Primary Consequence of a negative culture include disengagement, which means staff only carry out the minimum work,lowered productivity, increased absenteeism, a political workplace, and increased staff turnover.

Emotional engagement with customers increases repurchase, loyalty and referral behavior. You need to clearly

understand what causes your customers to repurchase or you will lose out. Customer repurchase criteria can be very

different to initial purchase criteria. Unless your people know the difference, they could end up treating them all the

same what a shame!

The fuel of your success is driven by the combined energy, passion and engagement of your staff. Are youmaximising their energy in every way possible? Sometime this means giving them a break to recover too, even at

war, people have to rest and recover.

The following were identified as important factors in influencing engagement:

o Self Worth My job makes me feel competent, confident, worthwhile and in control.

o Results Making a real difference for the company, for customers, for other people.

o People Compatible, trustworthy and team-oriented co-workers.

o Rewards Rewarded and recognized, corresponding with the value of contribution.

o Energy Stimulation, excitement, enjoyment in my work environment.Towers Perrin /Gang & Gang Research. 2003

There are 5 prime elements today that contribute to most of the workers' negativity

o Excessive workload;

o Concerns about leadership effectiveness; trust / credibility

o Anxiety about job and financial security;

o

Lack of challenging work, boredom, frustration; Low engagemento Insufficient recognition and satisfaction.

We are in an age where people have begun to look inward. How people perceive themselves has a direct impact how

things workout around them. The self-esteem and inner states of individuals has historically been impacted by

religion, government programming, community, families, relationships, leaders, managers and peers. This may

sound like the soft stuff but current research reveals that this dramatically impacts the bottom line. A USA retailers

study indicated that a 5% improvement in staff attitude, created a 1,5% increase in sales, which resulted in a >2%

improvement in profits.

www.lifemasters.co.za/life-masters-self-esteem.htm

People want more than just the best price or the best product. In order to create a WOW USP you will need to

engage the clients full range of senses. Experiences are as distinct from services, as services are from goods.Joseph

Pine & James Gilmore, Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a stage.
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Trust and ownership are the catalyst for engagement. Blame kills agility, communications, collaboration and trust.

Low AQ people live in a cynical, political, high stress, low control, fear-based environment as opposed to high AQ

people, who create synergy, build trust, take responsibility, take action and take charge of achieving results.

The biggest challenge for leaders in the future will be to address the shortage of skilled and committed workers.

Research indicates that there is a direct link between people and profit, revealing the fact that engaged top talent

can produce 3 to 10 time more than average performers.

From past performance, attitudes and behaviors, many leaders have inculcated a culture of fear, uncertainty and

politics. The aftermath of this consequence will also have direct effects on the retention of talent, engagement levels

and relationships/loyalty levels.

David Maisters research indicates a real causal relationship between employee-satisfaction, the role of managers,

and pure, unadulterated profit. His study found that financial performance (measured by an index combining 2-year

% growth in revenues and profit, margin, and profit per employee) can be increased by as much as 42% by raising

employee satisfaction by 20%. What is your employees satisfaction level right now? What could you do to improve

it dramatically? Howe much of your profits are being eaten by trust-taxes?

Self Esteem is the foundation of success and resilienceo There is no value-judgment more important to man/woman - no factor more decisive in their psychological

development and inspiration - th

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