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LET THEM HAVE INPUT

Dr. Alyn — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:43:46 GMT

When Anne first came on the team as a new employee, she was surprised at the high morale and high commitment that the team exhibited. She had come from an organization where low morale and high turnover was the norm. The reason she left her last job was she felt she was wasting her time with a manager who just dictated everything to everyone and refused to listen to the ideas of the employees. Anne had no idea what to expect when she attended the first “team meeting.”

The meeting was scheduled to start at 10:00 am. Anne arrived a few minutes early and took a seat at the table. Most of the team was already present and the remaining members entered the room just after she did. Jeff was at the front of the room drawing a huge smiley face on the dry erase board.

The meeting started right on time as Jeff announced, “Okay, here’s the deal. As you know from our last meeting, the company will be employing the services of a software engineering firm that will be completely revamping our customer database software.

“I have been asked to provide a list of changes or features that our department would like to see integrated into the new software to make it as easy as possible to serve our customers. Before I provide them with that list, I wanted to get your input, since you are the ones using the software on a daily basis. So let’s throw around some ideas today and then let’s take two weeks to brainstorm and write down more ideas as you are using the old software on a daily basis. Then we will come back together and share what everyone has come up with.”

Anne watched in amazement as each person at the table took their turn throwing out ideas. Many made jokes about some of the archaic features of the software they had been using for far too many years. Laughter filled the room as the team talked about ways to make improvements. Jeff turned his attention to Anne.

“I know you’ve only been here a short time Anne, but you will be introduced to the database system this week. It is my understanding that you have experience in different software systems from your previous employer and we would love to hear your thoughts at the next meeting on what you perceive could use improvement.” The rest of the team shook their heads in agreement and waited for Anne to respond.

She was dumbfounded for a moment and then realizing the awkward silence, she cleared her throat and said, “Yes, of course. I would be honored to give my input.”

Jeff adjourned the meeting and Anne wandered back to her desk in a daze. She had never experienced such a culture of camaraderie and inclusion in all her life. She reflected back on her old employer and manager who had called a similar meeting one morning. The company had also decided to go with a new software system. Her manager announced that the new system would be arriving in 30 days and training would begin immediately after the installation of the new software. The employees in the meeting all sat silently as the manager explained why the new system was better and how it would make everyone’s job easier.

The employees hated the new system. They complained about it often. Morale continued to drop while the managers talked amongst themselves about how employees always resist change and are never happy with anything.

Anne was all too familiar with a common belief held by many managers: I’ve been promoted to a management position for a reason. I have the best ideas on how to solve problems, improve processes, and create new systems.

She had heard about leaders like Jeff, but she had never had the privilege of working for one. Jeff embraced the belief held by many great leaders: Those closest to the problems have the best solutions. When I allow people to give input into the change process, they are much more likely to be inspired to own and embrace the change. I don’t have all the answers and sometimes my employees have better solutions than I do.
The employees who worked for Jeff were highly motivated to get things done. They felt inspired to achieve more because they were able to provide input to the changes that needed to occur in the organization, especially the ones that affected them most.

Anne realized that things were going to be a lot different in this organization. She felt a sense of excitement as she headed to the training department to take a look at the current database system. She knew her contributions would be valued, and they would make a difference in the organization. She felt a strong sense of purpose already and was eager to contribute in her new position.

GOOD INTENTIONS DO NOT ALWAYS INSPIRE PEOPLE
There have been many managers who had great intentions when it comes to implementing new programs or initiating change in an organization. One manager heard the employees complaining about the layout of their work area. With great intentions, he decided to remodel and rearrange the entire floor plan. Over a weekend, while everyone was away, he redesigned the layout, moved all the furniture, and even painted the walls a different color in an attempt to give them something new and exciting. He was shocked to discover that the employees were not pleased with the changes at all. He convinced himself that all employees resist change and are just never happy, no matter what you try to do to please them.

Another team of managers wanted to do something nice for the employees in an attempt to raise morale. The managers purchased a new copy machine to replace the old one, thinking it would show the employees that they care. They were surprised to hear some of the employees complaining about some of the features on the new machine and the lack of some features that would be useful. These managers also convinced themselves that all employees resist change and are just never happy, no matter what you try to do to please them.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

Common Myths About Female Bosses

Dr. Alyn — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:43:50 GMT

Misconceptions about Female Bosses

In the past 100 years, revolutionary changes have occurred in the work place. Minorities and women have come a long way. However, there still exist misconceptions about the capabilities of females in the workplace. Here are some of the most common fabrications about women in leadership roles.

The first common misconception about women in the workplace is that they are not competent enough to be strong leaders. Another misconception is that women are not as reliable as men because they have to take off work during pregnancy. The third misconception is that women can not handle stress like men and might become hysterical if too much is expected from them. Finally, the last misconception that some people hold about women in the workforce is that they are not as smart as men.

Many of these misconceptions come from dated thinking about traditional gender roles when men would provide for the family and the women would stay at home, taking care of the children. While this is still a preferred model for some families, it is no longer the norm in society. Until the 1920s in America, men had always been the bread winners for the family. However, with the suffragette movement and later civil rights, women started integrating more and more into the workforce. Women played a vital role in World War II with the men in Europe, manufacturing weaponry on the home front. Since then, several generations of women have gone to school, become educated and have entered the workforce. With each successive generation of women in the workforce, females have climbed the corporate ladder and attained accomplished positions in the business world. One of the best known famous women in business is Meg Whitman who has been very successful working for both Hewlett Packard and eBay.

The notion that women are not strong leaders is a typical stereotype that stems from assigning certain traits like decisiveness and achievement-orientation to men while attributing women with traits like indecisiveness and relationship-orientation. These traits are found in social styles of both men and women and are not unique to a particular gender, contrary to popular belief. Meg Whitman is a prime example of a woman who is a strong leader in business who possesses the necessary traits to be considered a good manager and leader.

The question of reliability of women as it relates to maternity leave is no longer relative in the workplace. Most employers refer to it as “family leave” now and many men take time off work now to bond with their newborn children, just as women do. Employers have learned to fill those positions as necessary until either parent can return to work.

The idea that women may not be able to control their stress levels in the workplace is also an inaccurate gender stereotype. Whether male or female, some people handle their stress levels better than others. We have all seen some very expressive men unload their stress verbally on others in the workplace just as easily as a woman who is expressive. It is more about social style than gender.

Finally, the battle of the sexes when it comes to intelligence has been debated for hundreds of years. While it is true that there are more male geniuses than females, it is also true that there are more mentally challenged males than females. Men tend to have more extreme brain functions, but when it comes to the “average” IQ, you will find intelligence in both men and women.

Don’t be duped by typical gender stereotypes. Great leaders and managers should be judged by their behavior and character, not their gender. There are both great and horrible male and female bosses out there. It’s not the gender that makes them better as a leader, it’s their daily behavior.

-Ashleigh Denton’s passion for people and art has lead her to pursue a career in writing. At this time, Ashleigh is working as a part-time writer for InsuranceQuotes.org specializing in car insurance.

BE A DOPAMINE DEALER

Dr. Alyn — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:49:20 GMT

Now let’s relate it to you. Think of yourself as a dopamine dealer. When you dish out random rewards, you are causing dopamine levels to rise. Conversely, if your employees have expectations for rewards that are not met, you will cause dopamine levels to plummet, which in turn makes employees feel down and frustrated. By creating a working environment where rewards are not expected or anticipated, but provided randomly, people will associate you with rewards and dopamine levels could rise just from the environment you create. Then when you actually provide the random reward, the dopamine levels of your followers could surge. Higher dopamine levels will create higher morale, a better sense of well-being, and an occasional feeling of bliss. Dopamine causes people to feel a sense of happiness. Studies show that people who are happy solve more problems and come up with more new ideas on what action should be taken in a given situation.

It is also noteworthy that studies have shown people who achieve more have higher levels of naturally released dopamine than people who achieve less. As you strive to inspire people to achieve more, helping their natural flow of dopamine could assist you in the process.

DATING, MARRIAGE, AND DOPAMINE
On a lighter, purely unscientific note let me relate this to personal relationships. Maybe one of the reasons couples are in such bliss when they are initially dating is because of the dopamine factor. There is so much random reward in the dating process that this triggers the release of dopamine and causes people to feel “euphoric” around this person. As a result, they feel “in love”. The man brings her flowers one day and then surprises her with an exciting night out on the town the following week. He writes her sweet notes here and there. She associates him with rewards but the rewards are different each week. They are new and exciting. She does the same for him. She surprises him with his favorite meal. She shows up for a date in a new outfit and flirts with him throughout dinner. She sends him funny cards and makes him laugh. She buys him a little gift to brighten his day.

The dopamine is flowing full throttle for both of them until they start to get comfortable, which usually happens one to two years later or soon after they get married. Then maybe they settle into a “date night.” Every Friday night they go to dinner and a movie. Their lives start to become routine. Every Thursday is pizza night. Every Monday and Wednesday they take their son to soccer practice. Some couples even schedule sex on their calendar. It becomes very predictable. The little surprise gifts stop. The notes disappear. The relationship and their lives become very routine and they pretty much know what to expect. And we wonder why so many people struggle with depression!

The dopamine stops flowing and some people miss it enough to turn to drugs or gambling, both of which provide dopamine “fixes.” Certain drugs will increase dopamine levels and gambling has been shown to increase and surge dopamine to the point of addiction.

So my idea (again purely unscientific) is to create the natural release of dopamine by reintroducing random rewards into your relationships. The person will eventually associate you with constant rewards, but won’t know exactly when they are coming. This could cause dopamine to be released and that euphoric sense of feeling “in love” to return. It’s certainly worth a try!

Get out of the systematic reward routine in your personal and professional relationships. Whether it’s a romantic relationship, your kids, or your employees, mix it up and try random rewards. Get out there and deal some dopamine!

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

WHY WES IS RIGHT

Dr. Alyn — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:53:08 GMT

Wes is right about a lot of things. First of all, rewarding people for good behavior as a first choice instead of punishing bad behavior creates better results. There are of course circumstances where bad behavior is continuing, and if positive reward systems for good behavior have failed, you cannot ignore the need to punish bad behavior. In fact, studies show that employees want a just and fair environment where punishment is used when positive reinforcement has failed. Employees simply want the punishment to match the infraction and not be disproportionate. They also want it to be consistent with what others have received for the same behaviors. But let’s look at trying to reward good behavior as a first choice.

A researcher at Harvard University, David Rand, asserts that rewarding people for good behavior, rather than punishing them for bad behavior, will result in higher levels of public cooperation. In his study on the topic, Rand had college students play a computer game for sixty minutes. Students were directed to cooperate in the game to reach a common goal with other players. Students were told that they would receive a monetary bonus for any points they accumulated just for themselves, which could encourage selfishness. Players would also get points for being cooperative and generous. The students were allowed to punish people in the course of the game who were acting selfish or reward people who were acting cooperatively.

The study showed that the groups that rewarded cooperation the most earned twice as much monetary reward over the groups that rewarded the least for cooperation. The study also showed that payoffs were the worst for groups that used punishment the most. Positive reinforcement and cooperation generated goodwill and produced overall better outcomes. Many studies have shown that rewarding good behavior to create cooperation is a better first choice than punishing bad behavior.

So if rewards are good, are there any studies to support the idea that random rewards are better? Yes there are, and that’s another reason Wes was right. Random rewards cause higher levels of dopamine to be released in your body. Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that among other things helps to regulate movement and emotion. Dopamine plays a large role in the pleasure reward pathways of your brain. A release of dopamine can cause a person to feel a sense of bliss and general well-being. Lower levels of dopamine can cause many problems including depression, loss of satisfaction, and an inability to pay attention or focus.
A neuroscientist at Cambridge University, Wolfram Schultz, has examined how dopamine levels work in the brains of monkeys. A light is flashed in front of the monkey and then a squirt of sweet juice is given to the monkey (a reward). The researcher then monitors the response of brain cells and dopamine release.

Initially, the neurons fire and increase dopamine as the reward is given. Once the monkey figures out that the light always precedes the reward, the dopamine neurons will fire as soon as the monkey sees the light. However, once the monkey knows the juice will be provided each time, the monkey expects it, anticipates it, and the dopamine neurons stop firing. There’s no brain excitement for the anticipated reward and the monkey becomes disappointed. However, if the researcher provides a reward of juice without ever flashing the light (an unexpected, random reward), then the dopamine neurons become highly charged, producing a much larger release of dopamine than the expected reward produced.

A similar study using monkeys was conducted at the Concordia University in Canada. The researchers were attempting to detect and measure dopamine releases and fluctuations associated with risk/reward tasks. In this study, a computer screen would flash different color visuals to the monkeys. When certain colors were shown, the monkey would receive a reward (a drop of syrup). The experiment was performed in three different ways, consecutively on the same monkeys.

In the first experiment, the researchers would reward the monkey each and every time the monitor showed the reward color. In the second experiment, the monkey never received a reward, regardless of what showed on the computer screen. In the third experiment, the monkey received a random reward 50% of the time the reward color showed up on the computer screen.

With the first experiment, the dopamine levels in the monkey rose only the first few times the monkey received the reward. The monkey became accustomed to getting the reward and because of that, the dopamine neurons stopped firing. With the second experiment, the dopamine levels initially rose because the monkey expected to receive a reward when the reward color presented itself on the screen. However, after realizing the reward was never coming, the dopamine levels remained unchanged.

With the third experiment, the dopamine levels in the monkey rose every time the reward color was shown even though the reward was given randomly. When the monkey actually received a reward, the dopamine neurons would fire strongly and release a high level surge of dopamine. The use of random rewards actually caused a constant release of dopamine in the monkey’s brain and a surge of dopamine when a reward was actually received.

To be continued...

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

USE RANDOM REWARD SYSTEMS

Dr. Alyn — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:13:49 GMT

Karen had twelve employees on her team and she considered herself a pretty good manager and leader. She was fortunate enough to work for an organization that empowered its managers to structure incentive and motivation programs uniquely to fit the individualism of the teams. Karen had carefully crafted a systematic incentive and reward system that would provide additional benefits when her team members would reach specific targets. She also set up a lunch meeting with her entire team the first Friday of every month at a really nice restaurant just to show her appreciation for all of their hard work. Karen was considering the implementation of another reward for her team members, but wanted to run it by Wes first and get his input. Wes was also a team leader in the same organization but Karen had noticed that his production numbers were higher on his team, conflict and absenteeism were lower, and morale was higher. She invited Wes to lunch to talk about her ideas.

“So Wes, I’ve noticed how great your team is doing and I know you’re a big proponent of reward systems. I use rewards with my team too, as you know, and we are doing pretty darn good, but I think we can do better. I wanted to run an idea by you that I had for my team.I was thinking about a couple of things to increase my current reward program and try to get production and morale up. One idea is to give employees a $100 gift card when they reach a certain level of production in addition to their regular bonuses. I was also thinking about having an annual team picnic where the team members can bring their family and socialize with other employees. I’m trying to find ways to keep morale and motivation up and I know rewards and incentives are highly recommended. They seem to work pretty well for you.”

“You know Karen, I don’t usually tell people where I think they are going wrong unless they ask me for my input. But since you’re asking, I’m going to have to be really honest with you. Systematic reward programs do more harm than good. I’m not a fan.”

Karen set her sandwich down and said, “I’m confused. You use reward programs yourself. If you don’t think they work, why do you use them?”

“Because mine work. They’re not systematic. They’re random. Systematic reward programs become expected by employees and eventually become an entitlement. Take your monthly lunch for example. The first Friday of every month you take your team out to a really nice lunch. The reward itself is great and I’m sure the team loves it, but you’ve made it systematic. Now they expect it every month. How do you think they would react if you stopped doing it? What if your team budget got cut and you couldn’t do that every month or what if you just wanted to stop doing it and try something different?”

Wes continued before she could respond. “Take your incentive program too. The team members know when they reach a certain level of production that they will get a certain amount of reward money. That creates a couple of problems. One problem you have is determining what level to set. If you set it too high, they can’t reach it and not getting the reward is seen as a punishment. If you set it too low, you discourage risk-taking and creativity and employees won’t try hard enough. Systematic rewards that are used as preemptive bribes to get what you want from an employee can actually be perceived in the same way as punishments. Another problem you face is this: when you get the employee focused on primarily monetary types of rewards, you diminish the employee’s ability to tap into their own intrinsic motivation, the incredible feeling of accomplishment, and the fulfillment that comes from a job well done. If your main focus is on monetary rewards, you actually hinder intrinsic motivation because there is no other reason for your employees to put forth extra effort. I’m not just spouting off here Karen. I have actually done a lot of research on this. Most reward and incentive programs create a temporary spike in production but do little to create long term changes in behavior or incentive to do better.”

“Wes I’m just really surprised to hear all of this from you. I thought you were a big proponent of rewards.”

“I am. Just not systematic rewards. There is a big difference between rewarding your employees randomly and setting up rewards that they expect.”

“Well how do you prevent people from feeling like it’s unfair if it’s just random?” Karen’s intrigue was peaked.

Wes continued. “Random doesn’t mean unfair and it doesn’t mean I am inconsistent in giving rewards… it just means the rewards are not predictable or expected at a specific time or based on a specific number. I am still fair in how I dispense random rewards. I make sure all of the team members are shown appreciation, just in different ways and sometimes at different times. If the rewards are systematic and expected by any employee, the rewards inevitably become an entitlement and actually cause more harm than good. I take my team members to nice lunches too—I just don’t do it every month and I certainly wouldn’t do it on the same day each month. It would then be expected and if I stopped doing it, they would resent me. I give lots of rewards, but they never know when the rewards are coming. And not all rewards have to cost money either. Specific, immediate, and positive feedback is a great reward for employees.Just consider trying some random rewards and see how it affects the team. Last month, my team had an amazing month as far as productivity and team effort. I surprised the team by having two limos pull up to the front of the building on a Friday. I announced that the team had the rest of the day off and would be taken in limos to lunch and a two-hour cruise to wherever they wanted to go. Cheers erupted through the office as everyone raced to the limos. I have never seen people update their status on Facebook so quickly! They all wanted everyone to know what they were doing.” Wes was beaming with excitement as he shared the story.

Karen took a sip of her iced tea. “That sounds really fun, but also really expensive.”

“But it’s really not when you think about it. Because I am not spending all that money on systematic incentives and rewards for the team, I can afford to do random rewards. I also don’t just do it as a team. I do it individually too, based on the personal preferences of my team members. I have one person who absolutely loves coffee. I noticed last week that she stayed over after work to help one of our clients solve a problem. I called her favorite coffee place and had them put together a small basket of coffee goodies. She went absolutely nuts over it. What I am suggesting takes more time and investment in knowing your team members, but the pay-off is incredible.”

Karen asked, “So how do you encourage higher productivity?”

“Well I start with instilling the mission, vision, and core values in my team, which is a deeper intrinsic motivator than rewards. But I also use random rewards to inspire the team members to stay excited about the fun parts of the job. My job is to create an environment where creativity, risk-taking, fun, and productivity can all take place at the same time. This is what keeps morale high and team cooperation flowing. If I have my team members competing for certain bonuses or rewards, it creates a more confrontational environment with jealousy.”

Karen needed to cut in. “So you don’t reward your employees for any production goals at all?”

“Not in the traditional way,” Wes replied. “I pay them all a percentage of our net production. This gives them all a reason to help keep production up and expenses down and they don’t feel ‘punished’ if a particular number is not met. When I moved over to this system, production actually went up! They weren’t all hung up on reaching a particular level that they were most likely capable of surpassing. Creativity and risk-taking increased and so did morale. I also make sure that I reward the top producers in different ways as well.”

Karen shook her head and smiled. “Well I must say… this meeting is not at all what I expected. You do things so differently but your ideas obviously work. You don’t mind if I try some of your ideas out on my own team do you?”

“Not at all!"

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

THE SECRET TO WORKPLACE HAPPINESS

Dr. Alyn — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:46:54 GMT

A study was conducted on two groups of long-term health care employees at two different locations. One group was provided with an all-day workshop and eight booster sessions each week following the workshop. The workshop and subsequent sessions facilitated exercises for the employees that placed their focus on aspects of the job that they loved. The employees were encouraged to create personal action plans, consider the deeper purpose of the work they were involved in, and cultivate an appreciation for the services they provided.

The second group was not provided with the workshop or booster sessions. The results of the study revealed some interesting statistics. Six months after the workshop and booster sessions, the first group experienced the following changes from the same period of time in the previous year:

•   An overall increase in job satisfaction
•   A 23% increase in teamwork
•   A 60% decrease in absenteeism
•   A 75% decrease in turnover
•   A 17% increase in morale

Getting people to rethink their jobs and focus on what purpose they serve and what purpose their jobs serve is a fantastic way to increase workplace morale. It is also a great way to help connect people with the facets of their jobs that they love. But it has to start with you as a manger or leader. They have to see a love for the job in you, because that is the first thing that will inspire them to look for a love for the job in themselves.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

LESSONS FROM A DELIVERY TRUCK DRIVER

Dr. Alyn — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:23:31 GMT

The CEO of 7-Eleven went undercover in his organization to see how some of the local stores operated. One of his undercover assignments put him on the night shift with a delivery truck driver. At 3:00 am, this driver had high morale, was enthusiastic, and full of love for life and his job. As they were driving to make a delivery, the CEO asked him why he was so motivated at this crazy hour. The driver had no idea he was talking to the CEO and his smile ran from ear to ear as he gushed, “Because I am living the American dream!”

The CEO was astonished and said, “I’m sorry, what?”

The driver said, “It’s true. I am living the American dream. I came here from another country with only $50 in my pocket and I did not know a word of English, but I learned. What other country gives you this kind of opportunity to have a job like this that will feed my family and make me happy? America is the most wonderful country in the world and Americans just don’t know how blessed they are. I am so motivated because I am so thankful for this country that has allowed me to survive and be happy.”

What a perspective! This guy was probably not making a ton of money, but he was incredibly appreciative of the job he had because he had perspective in life. He had another frame of reference to compare it to. He didn’t focus on the negative aspect of having to drive around at 3:00 am lifting heavy objects. He focused on the fact that he had a job, he was living in the most prosperous country in the world, and he was putting food on the table. This focus created a love for his job, and this love for the job paid off.

The driver had always dreamed of having his own 7-Eleven franchise but couldn’t because of the financing fee. The CEO of 7-Eleven was so impressed by the driver’s attitude and hard work that he ended up waiving the fee and handing the driver the keys to his own franchised 7-Eleven store.

People want to reward those who love what they do and appreciate their jobs. People want to throw money at those who love what they do! Think about the last waitress or taxi cab driver that showed love and passion for their work and made you feel like they actually appreciated your business. Doesn’t that make you want to overtip people? If it doesn’t, it should.

People get amazed by those who love what they do, especially when the job may be perceived as less than desirable. It’s not the job that brings happiness—it’s the perception of the job. Showing love for what you do inspires people to want to achieve more.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

LESSONS FROM A FLIGHT ATTENDANT

Dr. Alyn — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:31:53 GMT

Based on what I do for a living, the profession I come into contact with the most is the flight attendant. I get so sick and tired of flight attendants who obviously hate their jobs. It makes me want to open the door, in flight, and say, “Get out! I will take over from here.” So I get pretty excited when I encounter the flight attendant who loves the job.

On a return flight to California, I was pleasantly surprised to see such a flight attendant. She did her safety briefing completely outside the box, just to make it more fun for us and probably for her too. Let me give you the highlights of her message:
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our flight to Los Angeles. We want to thank you for flying with us because we know you have a choice in financially strapped airlines.

“To operate your seatbelt, insert the metal tab into the buckle and pull the strap tight. It works like every other seatbelt and if you don’t know how to operate one… you shouldn’t be allowed in public unsupervised."

“There may be fifty ways to leave your lover, but there are only four ways outta this plane! Here, here, here and here."

“Please exercise caution when opening the overhead bins because… shift happens."

“In the event of a water landing, your seat cushion will double as a floatation device. Simply slip your arms through the straps, pull the cushion close to your chest, jump out of the plane into the water, and then kick, paddle, paddle, kick, all the way to shore."

“In the unlikely event the cabin should lose pressure, your oxygen mask will drop down in front of you. Please secure your mask first and then assist your child. If you have more than one child… pick your favorite!”

She made one last announcement as we taxied into our gate. She said, “Please remain seated until the captain has turned off the fasten seat belt sign. At that time I will tell you what my father told me the day I turned eighteen: ‘Pack up your stuff and get out!’”

By the time she finished her safety briefing, the entire plane broke out in applause. People want to be around people who love what they do. People want to follow leaders who love what they do. People get inspired by those who love what they do.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

MAKING IT WORTH IT

Dr. Alyn — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:45:01 GMT

What is rewarding about your career? When you start to focus on these aspects of what you do, you will find it much easier to endure the more difficult parts of your job. When you continue to focus on the negative, it will eventually be all you see. People would be amazed at how their attitudes and dispositions would change if they only focused on the positive aspects of their jobs.

One of the ways you can encourage people to focus on the positive is to do this yourself. Type up on a piece of paper a title that says “Things I love about my job” and then make a long, bulleted list. Print it out, enlarge it, frame it, and hang it near the area you spend the most time working. This will remind you of all the things that make your job worth it. It will remind others to consider the things they love about their jobs. It will inspire people to be more positive.

As you are reading this, you might be thinking I don’t have a list of things I love about my job. Then my advice to you is this: it may be time to consider a new career. A constant negative state of mind that is created from being in a job you absolutely hate is detrimental to your health and well-being. It also hurts your followers. It hurts the people you serve in your job. It might just be time to move on to something else.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

LOVE WHAT YOU DO

Dr. Alyn — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:35:34 GMT

There is something incredibly inspiring about watching someone doing something they love. When you show people that you love what you do and have a passion for it, you inspire people to want to be more, reach more, and achieve more. Unfortunately, a lot of managers and leaders are burned out in their jobs and it shows.

Life is way too short to be in a job you hate. You have been gifted with specific skills and talents that are intended to fulfill a specific purpose and calling. If you hate your job, I can assure you—you missed your calling. You don’t have to love every single aspect of your job. You certainly don’t have to love every person you work with (whew! that’s a relief, right?). But you at least need to get up every day and feel like what you are doing is making a difference somewhere and filling some purpose in this world. What you do should stir a passion in you and inspire others.

I owned a financial planning firm for nearly ten years. I taught classes at our local community college for five years on money management. At first I was completely terrified of public speaking. It took me years to realize that there was a calling there and a passion in me. After several years, I actually loved teaching those classes, knowing that people were walking away with information that could essentially change the course of their lives if they actually applied it. Even if just one person applied the information, it made a difference to me.

As the years passed, I started to realize how much I dreaded number crunching and the financial planning aspect of my business, but I loved the speaking and teaching component. I was in my office one day when someone asked me this question: “Ten years from now, what would you be doing if you could do anything for a living and money was no object?”

I didn’t even stop to think. I quickly responded, “I would be a full time author and public speaker.” The person proceeded to ask me why I wasn’t doing it now. I gave him a list of excuses that included my investment in my financial business, my investment in my education, the success of my business, the dependence of my clients on me, etc. He shook his head, smiled, and left the room.

That conversation filled my head for months and I could not shake the implications of what he was saying. I was letting my calling pass me by and I was using excuses to facilitate the process. I had started writing at the age of thirteen and always wanted to pursue that path. But life happened. I had children, I had bills to pay, I had job commitments, and I had other responsibilities pulling at me.

So I woke up one morning and made a decision. I was not going to let life happen to me anymore. Instead, I was going to follow my passion, my gifts, and my talents to see where they led me. I sold my financial planning practice and I went full time into writing and public speaking. It was the biggest career risk I had ever taken and certainly a huge financial risk. It was a long, arduous road to success, and it certainly did not come overnight. I spent many nights lying awake wondering if I had made a mistake. But I pressed on, day after day, doing what it took to build my business and create the opportunities to use my skills and talents to fulfill a purpose that I perceived I was made for. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I get up every day now knowing that this is what I was made to do. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my God-given purpose is being fulfilled as I write and speak. I have been fortunate enough to receive emails and letters from people telling me how much a book or a presentation changed the course of their thinking or the course of their lives. It is both humbling and incredibly fulfilling to know that even one person’s life has been changed just because I pursued my passion and purpose to do something I truly enjoy.

I absolutely love what I do. Having said that, I do not love every aspect of what I do. I travel nearly every week, and sometimes I have three to four speaking engagements in one week. It is tough to be on that many flights. It is hard to be away from my family (my kids are all grown up but live close by and I still miss them when I am gone). My husband is self-employed and has the freedom to travel with me on occasion (and is kind enough to do so once in awhile), but I am still away from him quite a bit and that gets tough at times. I encounter travel complications like lost luggage, delayed flights, and bad weather, all of which make my job much less glamorous. I have had flights cancelled only to have to rent a car and drive four hours to get into a city at 4:00 am where I have to set up at 7:00 am to speak at 8:00 am. I could dedicate an entire book to all the things that have gone wrong and made my life miserable when trying to get to a speaking event. The things I have to endure at times might make some people hate their jobs.

Not me. I hate those aspects of my job. But I don’t paint a brush of disdain over my entire career. Instead, I put up with those parts of the job to get to do what I love. I keep my focus on the positive elements of my job. I keep my focus on the people I reach and the lives I affect, even if in some small way.
I finished a presentation last week and a woman came up to me and said, “My husband and I have been trying to decide whether or not to renew our license as foster parents. After listening to your presentation, I called my husband right when it was over and said, ‘Honey, we’re doing it!’ I just know in my heart that this is what we are supposed to do.” That moment right there makes all of the nightmare travel worth it. and reminds me that the sacrifices I made are serving a purpose.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

PEOPLE FLOURISH WITH VISION

Dr. Alyn — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:10:24 GMT

Just as plants grow and flourish with the sun, people grow and flourish with vision. Don’t confuse mission, vision, and core values. Your mission explains why you exist and what you do. If I owned a computer company, my mission statement might say:

“Providing high quality computers at an affordable price with outstanding service.”

A vision statement reveals what you envision for the future, where you want to be, or what you want your organization to look like. It’s not where you are at today; it’s where you want to be. The vision statement may seem lofty, but it needs to be. People want to attempt the seemingly impossible. People want to reach for the stars and turn dreams into reality. Ambitious visions inspire people to want to achieve more. My hypothetical computer company vision might say:

“Getting our computers in the hands of every person on the planet.”

Your core values lay the foundation for the behaviors you will and won’t engage in to reach your vision. The core values remind people of how you operate and the higher ground you intend to take with every decision that is made. My computer company core values statement might say:

“We value honesty, integrity, dependability, respect, work ethic, professionalism, and teamwork.”

All of these elements are important if you hope to inspire people and create an environment where self-motivation can flourish. A Watson Wyatt Work Study revealed that organizations that have strong missions and visions, which are clearly understood by employees, experience nearly 30% greater returns than other organizations. These organizations are inspiring people to achieve more.

Creating a central vision that everyone can rally around is especially crucial to inspiring others. People flourish with vision. Vision inspires others by illuminating the path to the future. Don’t underestimate the power of vision as a leader. Leaders with vision inspire people to achieve more.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

THE COMMON DENOMINATORS

Dr. Alyn — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:45:44 GMT

How was Martin Luther King Jr. able to lead the largest non-violent revolution in American history for the rights of African Americans? What allowed Joan of Arc to lead the French Army to several critical victories during the Hundred Year’s War? How did Winston Churchill overcome a speech impediment to become one of the world’s greatest orators and political figures? How did Mahatma Gandhi, a man with no title, no wealth, and no desire for fame, bring freedom to millions of people? How was Mother Teresa able to launch the Missionaries of Charity and grow it to over 600 missions in 120 countries with thousands of volunteers when she had no money herself? What made it possible for Mary Kay Ash to launch a business with only a $5,000 investment and turn it into a $2 billion dollar a year company with nearly 2 million cosmetic consultants worldwide, earning her the honor and title of “Leading Female Entrepreneur in American History”? What empowered Nelson Mandela to spend 27 years in prison for standing up for what he believed in and then serve as the first South African president in a newly formed democratic environment?

All of these people, and countless others who have inspired millions of people around the globe share, some very important common denominators. The first one is passion. When you have passion for what you are doing, or passion for the mission, vision, and core values, you inspire people. Passion fires people up. Passion drives people to press on when others give up. Passion shows people that you care deeply about something and that draws people in.

The second common denominator is purpose. All of these people felt a strong sense of purpose in what they were doing. They knew the greater good that their actions or business would serve.

The third common denominator is vision. People with vision can picture what the future looks like. They can picture where the organization will be and how it will be perceived when the mission is achieved. They can see the end result in their minds. They can inspire other people to embrace the same vision and persevere until it is achieved. They are able to articulate the vision and they talk about it on a regular basis. Others see their enthusiasm for the vision and become enthusiastic as a result.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

INGRAIN & LIVE OUT YOUR MISSION, VISION, AND CORE VALUES

Dr. Alyn — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:45:18 GMT

Your mission, vision, and core values are what provide the illumination people need to be inspired. These are the critical elements of your organizational foundation. Unfortunately, most employees have no idea what the mission, vision, and core values of the organization are.

I was giving a presentation to an organization on the topic of leadership. I started talking about the importance of knowing and living out the core values of the organization. This particular organization was a step ahead of many others by having their core values in an acronym form, making it easy to remember. The room was full of employees that ranged from front line in rank all the way up to management positions.

I said, “Your core values are the foundation of everything you do in your organization. They are the ruler that you measure all behavior against. Your organization is actually one step ahead of many because your core values are in an acronym. What are they?”

Cricket. Cricket. Not a word. I had experienced many organizations full of employees who had no idea what their mission, vision, or core values were. In this situation, I was sure at least someone in the group had to know what the core values were. After all, the organization went through the trouble to put them in an acronym, which is something I always recommend. Well after getting the “deer in the headlights” look from every person in the room, it became apparent that there was a huge disconnect between what the organization wanted their employees to know about the core values and what they actually knew.

People don’t care what you put in a pretty frame and hang on a wall. They want to see your mission, vision, and core values come to life in every decision you make and every action you take. Your first priority is to ensure that you are demonstrating what the core values of your organization look like in action. If you have a core value of integrity but demonstrate poor work ethic, your followers will not only fail to be inspired, they will grow resentful.

In addition to living out the mission, vision, and core values, you need to be verbalizing them on a regular basis. If you doubt the importance of this, conduct a short experiment on your own organization. Ask ten different employees to tell you in their own words what the mission, vision, and core values of the organization are. You will be surprised at how many cannot tell you. This is the result of assuming that if they have been told once or it is included in their employee manual, on the web, and on the wall, they should know it. They don’t. They need that ingrained training where they see it lived out and heard often.

Too many managers try to use policy alone to gain compliance or desired behavior in followers. That doesn’t inspire people to want to do better. When you sit down with someone and talk about core values, you take the conversation to a different level. When you discuss your core value of respect when resolving a conflict between two employees, you move beyond policy to values that inspire people to a higher level of behavior and performance.

When you are sitting in meeting after meeting with employees setting goals, objectives, and strategy, your mission, vision, and core values should be coming up every time. The more you are discussing these things, the more employees will remember them. If your followers can’t articulate in their own words the mission, vision, and core values of your organization, there is a huge disconnect between what hangs on the wall and what hangs in their hearts.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

More Sun Exposure

Dr. Alyn — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:57:11 GMT

A glimpse of the sun will get people on track who are lost, but as soon as it disappears again, they will start walking in circles as before. The only way to keep people consistently walking in the same direction is to have constant illumination. Your central vision needs to be communicated constantly. Ingraining this in your initial and ongoing training is essential.

Organizational theorist Karl Weick tells the story of airplanes that are flown by U.S. pilots in North America and Europe. The plane is the same whether it’s located in North America or Europe except for one thing: the ejection system varies by location. In North America, the pilots eject through the top of the plane. In Europe, the pilots eject through the bottom of the plane. Many of the U.S. pilots became accustomed to flying the planes in Europe where the pilots eject from the bottom. So they are trained in an emergency to roll the plane and eject themselves upward so they can parachute back down to safety.

When these pilots transfer to the United States, they are retrained for the North American planes that eject the pilot from the top. So they are taught, in an emergency, simply eject yourself upward.

This should be a simple enough transition, but that is not always the case. Some of the transferred pilots, in times of emergency, rolled the planes upside down and ejected themselves to their death. When faced with crisis, they reverted to their most deeply ingrained training.

This is what we do in life. When we find ourselves in stress or crisis, we revert to what we know best. You can’t train someone just once and expect that your problem is solved. Ingrained training that creates a subconscious desired reaction takes practice, practice, practice. You must train over and over on your vision and purpose and how it relates to the daily tasks that people are engaging in. As you continue to do this and people experience stress and crisis, they will turn to the ingrained vision and purpose you have instilled in them.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

Give Them the Sun

Dr. Alyn — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:57:33 GMT

Leaders have a responsibility to light the way for people and illuminate the vision. It’s the vision that keeps people focused and purposeful. It keeps them moving in the same direction. It keeps their eye on their destination. While many leaders excel in communicating a vision initially, they often fail to keep the vision at the forefront of people’s minds. Countless organizations pay consultants to help them create committees who hash out a vision statement that hangs on a wall, graces a web site, and may even be found in brochures. But it’s something that few talk about in the organization on a regular basis.

As team meetings and brain storming sessions occur, few leaders are showing people how to align goals, objectives, or action plans with the central vision and purpose of the organization. Few leaders are helping individuals make the connection between their own goals and objectives and the central vision. Some leaders forget themselves what they are aiming for and how they plan to get there.

Just as the sun disappears behind the clouds or a deep layer of fog, the vision is often clouded by daily distractions, causing people to lose focus, walk in circles, lose sight of the goal, and give up. Those minor errors in sensory signals that add up and cause people to walk in circles are present in organizations. They are the daily dramas that every person deals with from crisis management, to poor communication to internal conflict

Think of your central vision as your guiding sun. Make sure your followers “see” it constantly so they feel a strong sense of direction. The best way for them to see it is when it’s lived out in you. When they see your passion for the vision and your continual reference to “why we are here” from a positive point of view, they become inspired.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

ORDINARY PEOPLE WITH PURPOSE INSPIRE OTHERS TO ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS

Dr. Alyn — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:50:46 GMT

A fire department located in California did not have a helicopter program, and as far as they knew, they did not need one. But that’s not what one firefighter believed. Brian had come over from the California Department of Forestry where he had been involved in air programs. He thought a helicopter program would be a huge benefit to the department and would serve the higher purpose of saving more lives and more property. He started asking around to see what the possibilities were, but continued to reach dead ends.

So he started gathering information. On his own time and on his own dime, he started going to national air program conferences to find out what other departments were doing. He started putting together ideas and proposals and then took them to Kinkos to get reproduced so they looked professional. People with a strong sense of purpose will go to greater extremes to make visions realities.

One of the lifeguards in the department had a brother on the city council. Brian asked him to set up a lunch meeting where he could meet with the lifeguard’s brother. He ran his ideas by the city council member who loved it. He said if more support could be garnered, he might be able to get some city money allotted to the program. It would cost $4 million to get the helicopter and $2 million a year to keep it in service for the department. The city council member suggested going after some corporate sponsors.

With a sense of excitement, Brian went back to some of his chiefs and pitched the idea. They all shot him down. He had to listen to discouraging statements like:

“There is no way we will convince the fire chief or taxpayers that money should go to a helicopter when we need new engines and other equipment.”

“Your fellow firefighters will oppose it if it means money taken away from things they need.”

“We’ve survived just fine all this time without one, why would we need one now?”

“The way we’ve always done things has worked just fine.”

“We will never see something like this happen in our lifetimes… give up, it’s a waste of time.”

Most people would have done just that. Brian didn’t. He had a driving sense of purpose and he wasn’t about to give up on it. He continued to go to conferences and gather information. He refused to let the vision die. He spent a couple of years being persistent with the idea and tried inspiring people in every way possible. He finally got a few chiefs behind the idea. He got some other firefighters behind the idea. They scheduled meetings with local and state political officials to see what could be done. A county supervisor came up with a possibility. He knew of a government fund that the project might qualify for that would produce a substantial amount of money toward the project if they could match it.

The city council finally agreed to come up with $400,000 which was matched to sponsor a 120 day program. Wildland fires hit the area and the helicopter was put into action. The media covered the fires as well as the new helicopter in action. The public saw how beneficial it was. Now there was support for getting a permanent helicopter program.

Brian had to continue the process of inspiring others with his sense of purpose to get surrounding participating agencies on board and circumvent some surfacing resistance. During this long process, Brian was promoted to a Captain, then to a Battalion Chief, and then to a Division Chief. After eight years of persistent influence, Brian’s fire department became the proud owner of its first helicopter. It took a lot of influence, leadership, and inspiration to get city council support, taxpayer support, and corporate sponsors behind the new permanent program, but Brian pulled it off. He was able to instill that strong sense of purpose in those he needed to so they could see how this program could positively impact their community. The city council made a decision to allocate $2 million a year to the program. The department now has a second full-time helicopter and the department is one of only two in the nation who use night vision goggles to perform helicopter rescue and suppression operations at night.

You didn’t see Brian’s name in any of the newspapers that announced the new program. You didn’t see his name on the side of the helicopter. He wasn’t on the maiden flight with the fire chief and the mayor. Brian didn’t need the credit. He was just proud to see his dream and vision become a reality after eight years. That is how having a sense of purpose and instilling it in others can inspire people around you to achieve what is deemed as impossible. Never underestimate the power of purpose.

What is the greater purpose I see in the job I do or the life I live?

What is the greater purpose of the job and tasks of those I want to inspire?

What action can I take today to begin instilling a greater sense of purpose in those I want to inspire?

What is the greater purpose I see in the job I do or the life I live?

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

CULTIVATING A SENSE OF PURPOSE

Dr. Alyn — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:38:32 GMT

Great leaders instill a strong sense of purpose in people. In organizational settings, this includes communicating the overall purpose of the organization. It also extends to making a connection between daily tasks that are performed and the purpose of those tasks. Many managers and leaders don’t bother to take the time and energy necessary to convey the purpose of the work being performed.

In some cases where leaders do communicate the purpose, they often do it in a mission or vision statement that hangs on a wall. New employees are usually given a copy of this or expected to read it as they pass it in the hallway. An assumption is frequently made that employees should see, recognize, and remember the purpose of the organization and the work that is performed. People don’t pay attention as much as you might think unless something is brought to their attention.

Thousands of people walk through the metro station in Washington D.C. every day. One January morning a man started to play the violin as people hurried to meet their schedules. This man played six different Bach pieces for about forty-five minutes.

Most people rushed past the violin player, paying no attention. A middle aged man stopped for a moment to listen and then went on his way. After about four minutes of playing, a woman threw him his first tip: one dollar. Minutes later, a man leaned against the wall and listened for a short time, but then hurried away.

Every time a child walked by, the child tried to stop and listen. Every single parent refused to stop and forced the child to continue on. People continued to walk past the violin player, barely noticing his presence.

In the forty-five minute period that the musician played the violin, only six people stopped and listened for a short time. Approximately twenty people gave him tip money but continued to walk without stopping. A total of $32 was given to this man while he played.

When he finished playing, no one noticed the music had stopped. No one stopped to applaud his performance. No one cared. Would their response have been different if someone had pointed out to them that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the absolute best musicians in the world? Would they have been stunned to know that Joshua Bell was sitting in their metro station playing one of the most complex pieces ever composed on a violin that was valued at over $3.5 million dollars?

This was an actual experiment organized by the Washington Post as a social experiment about the perceptions and priorities of people. Joshua Bell played incognito to determine if people were able to recognize talent in an unexpected context. As it turns out, people were not able to perceive, appreciate, or recognize the level of talent before them without having someone open their eyes to the depth of what they were seeing and hearing. Journalist Gene Weingarten earned a Pulitzer Prize for his analysis of the experiment and the role context plays in our artistic perceptions.

I would argue that people are often too busy and too distracted to recognize the purpose their job serves. They are often unaware of how their work or tasks affect others in a positive way. Every day people rush from one project to the next, missing the greater purpose that their life or work would be serving. If someone took the time to stop them and point out the beauty of the purpose they serve, their perceptions could change drastically.

Let’s go back to the firefighter example during an earlier post. Burned out firefighters don’t need another strategic plan thrown at them. They don’t need another mission statement hung on a wall. They need inspirational leaders who will sit down and have the tough conversations with them. They need leaders who will remind them of why they got into this profession in the first place. They need leaders who will stop addressing symptoms and get to the cause of the problems. They need better role models to follow up, down, and across the chain of command. They need people who will inspire them to achieve more.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

PEOPLE WITH PURPOSE ACHIEVE MORE

Dr. Alyn — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:23:14 GMT

When people have a sense that their work actually matters, they will achieve more. One study in particular revealed how attaching purpose to a task can result in higher achievement. Dr. Adam Grant had initially hoped to apply the concepts of job redesign and enrichment to increase performance levels of call center employees in the Midwest. These employees were charged with the task of calling the alumni of a large public university and soliciting donations. Employee motivation was low and turnover was high, exceeding 400% annually.

Job redesign typically involves adding some variety to the tasks performed, providing more freedom and decision-making in the task performance process, and allowing employees more input into how the job gets done. In the case of the call center, this was not an option. The managers of the call center made it clear that there was only one job to do and one way to do it: make calls to alumni and ask for money.

Dr. Grant and his team of researchers surveyed and interviewed the employees and discovered that the call center employees were not aware of how alumni donations were used once they were received by the university. They had no idea that the majority of the funds went directly to scholarships that allowed students to attend the university.

At this point, the researchers attempted to apply the concepts of job redesign by attaching purpose to the task to see if it would improve the level of achievement. The callers were put in contact with some of the recipients of the scholarships so the callers could gain an understanding of how their task performance benefited others and served a higher purpose.

The callers were provided with face-to-face meetings with the scholarship recipients or given letters explaining how the scholarship had affected the lives of the recipients in a positive way. The researchers measured the performance of the callers before and after the interactions with the scholarship recipients to see if the attachment of purpose to the task improved performance.

The results showed a drastic improvement in performance, even after a month since contact with the scholarship recipient (or reading the letter). The call center employees who were exposed to the higher purpose of their jobs spent twice as much time on the phone, got twice as many pledges, and raised twice as much money per week. The call center employees who were not connected with the scholarship recipients showed no significant changes in performance achievement.

The researchers conducted more experiments that yielded the same results. In one particular case, after callers heard the story of one of the scholarship recipients, the donations raised per week was increased fivefold. New employees who were exposed to the higher purpose of their task performance during training also gained twice as many pledges in their first week than employees who were just asked to make the calls. People want to know that what they do makes a difference and serves a purpose. This sense of purpose inspires people to achieve more.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

PEOPLE WANT PURPOSE

Dr. Alyn — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:05:14 GMT

People want to know that what they do is important. They want their jobs to serve a greater purpose than simply performing tasks to collect a paycheck. People want to know that even their small tasks may be contributing to something bigger than they are. A sense of purpose inspires people more than money. A great example of this is the phenomenon of “crowdsourcing.”

If you’re not familiar with the term, I’m confident you will recognize what it is. Crowdsourcing is the process of outsourcing a particular task to a large group (the crowd) that traditionally one individual may have performed. The crowd or community works independently from each other but they all work for a common purpose. In many situations, people who participate in crowdsourcing are never paid. An example of this would be Wikipedia. No one is paid to submit information, edit submissions, track down sources, delete electronic vandalism quickly, or keep articles up to date. Anyone in the global community can edit a Wikipedia page, contribute new information, delete information, or vandalize information.

So how is Wikipedia able to keep people from trashing the content when it is so open and accessible to anyone? This is accomplished through a shared sense of purpose in the community that is stronger than the desire to do harm to others. The collective community consisting of people around the globe who participate in keeping Wikipedia a viable starting place to gather information feels a strong sense of purpose. They see value in providing free information on every imaginable topic and person. This sense of purpose drives people to donate their time and expertise as they gain personal satisfaction from being a part of something so much bigger than themselves.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More

Cultivate a Sense of Purpose

Dr. Alyn — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:17:43 GMT

Far too many managers and leaders are convinced that people work for a paycheck. There is a misconception that people are generally motivated by money and the more money they receive, the more satisfied they are with their jobs. Many surveys and studies have shown that money rarely ranks at the top when employees are asked what is most important to them.

I conducted the largest known study in the fire service on the topics of leadership and organizational commitment. The study showed that paid firefighters reported lower organizational commitment levels than volunteer firefighters. It might be easy to assume that if a firefighter was paid, he would be even more committed to the job. That is apparently not the case. Volunteer firefighters do not have a financial motive for being a volunteer. They gain a sense of purpose from helping others and rising to the challenge of being a firefighter. I am not suggesting that paid firefighters don’t also have this purpose in mind, but I have personally come across far too many paid firefighters who have reached the sad place of hating their jobs and are just waiting to retire. Unfortunately, they have come to depend on that paycheck and won’t switch departments or careers.

Volunteer firefighters don’t receive any pay for what they do. They have other jobs that support their families or they may already be retired. While some of them still deal with leaders who are less than inspirational and environments that do not foster self-motivation, they don’t have to deal with these types of issues nearly as much as a career firefighter. Career firefighters often begin their jobs with a great sense of purpose that slowly dwindles.

They may realize over time that they are not fighting fires or going on as many emergency calls as they envisioned. They may come face-to-face with the politics of their department and the “in-fighting.” They may find themselves in the middle of management and labor disputes. They may watch incompetent coworkers get promoted over them. They may find themselves working for leaders who do not inspire others in the least. As a result, the sense of purpose they felt when they originally decided to become a firefighter starts to fade. Paying a firefighter doesn’t create more commitment to the organization. These firefighters need leaders who know how to inspire and re-ignite that sense of purpose in them. This concept applies to every industry and sector where people find themselves getting burned out or disillusioned with the job. Positive inspiration can often help with this problem.

-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More