While I was waiting to board a plane to Minnesota the other day a little boy (maybe 2) was struggling with his wheeled suitcase, tipping it to the side.  His big brother (maybe 4) ran over to him.  In the seconds it took for him to get there I wondered what he was going to do.  He helped right the suitcase, and dragged it a little showing his little brother how to do it.

Being close by I said, “That was really kind how you helped your little brother with his suitcase.”  And his little face just beamed.  So did his mom’s.

I put a drop in his little bucket with a positive interaction.

synergize! is sponsoring a sizzling summer special contest—provide more positive interactions for your workforce and win FREE stuff!

Here’s the deal…

The idea behind this content combines the work of Ben Zander and Gallup (How Full is Your Bucket, a book that says we all have buckets that get filled or emptied every day.  Every positive interaction – either instigated by us or to us – fills our bucket.  Every negative one empties it.)

I am proposing you do a totally non-scientific “test” in your workplace.

  1. Do a survey on employee engagement or satisfaction OR simply write a paragraph describing why you think your workforce is dysfunctional or de-motivated.
  2. Be purposefully positive for the remainder of the summer.  Provide at least 5 (FIVE) positive interactions for every 1 (ONE) negative one and catch people doing things right.  Say thank you; express appreciation; give them stickers, buy them donuts; show an interest in them as individuals and not just employees – take them to lunch (or just eat lunch with them); ask them how their weekend/vacation was or what their kids are doing this summer, etc.
  3. After Labor Day repeat your survey OR just write a paragraph describing what changes you noticed in your workforce.  If your workforce is too big, narrow it down to one team or even one crotchety and unpleasant worker.
  4. Everyone who participates (as in the team leader who contacts me) will get a FREE EQ (Emotional Quotient).  The EQ is an excellent development tool that evaluates five areas of emotional intelligence: Self-awareness; Self-regulation; Motivation; Empathy and Social Skills.
  5. And the “winning” team will get up to 10 FREE EQ tests (a $900 value!).

The bottom line?  Focus on being positive with your workforce for the rest of the summer.  At the very least you’ll get one free assessment.

And at the very most you’ll discover a simple and inexpensive tool to keep your workforce engaged.

Appreciation.