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One of the keys to success is to have successful relationships. We are not islands and we don’t get to the top by ourselves. And one of the key ways to grow successful in our relationships is to be “life-giving” people to others. Every person we meet, we either give life to or take life from. You know what I mean. There are people who encourage you and when you are done being with them you feel built up. Then there are others who you feel torn down by. Successful people are people who have mastered the art of building others up.

One of the ways we build people up is to praise them. There is power in praising people! Something begins to happen in them, in you, and in your relationship when you praise someone. Remember a time when someone told you something about yourself in a praising manner? It was great, wasn’t it? You probably liked that person more after they praised you, didn’t you?

Now I am not talking about praising people for the sake of praising people. I am talking about honestly looking for and praising positive character traits and action of others around you. Don’t lie to people. If they have done something wrong, correct it, but when they do something right, Praise it!

With that said, here are benefits of and ways to start praising people.

Benefits
Your relationship grows. Life is about relationships. Family relationships, friends, and co-workers. When we begin to praise people for their positive aspects, our relationships grow. It puts them, and us, on the fast track.

Your leadership and influence grows. Who is going to have greater leadership and influence capacity in the lives of their followers, the one who tears down or the one who builds up?

Stronger relationships and loyalty. When the person is appreciated and praised, they become fiercely loyal, because they know that you care for them, love them, and appreciate them. This will take you to success.

Happier, more fulfilled people. I truly believe it is our job to build others up and that they need it. It is a good thing, in and of itself to invest in the lives of others by praising and encouraging them. Even if we never get anything in return, it is the right thing to do to build up other people. Someone else will always come along to tear them down; the successful person will instill in them the power of praise!

Some ways to praise
Character traits. Is there someone you know who is joyful? Hard-working? Honest? Then let them know how much you appreciate that in them. You can do it with a word or a card, or a phone call. Say something like this, “You know Tom, I think it is great that you are such a hard-worker. It seems like you are always the first one here and the last one to leave. You really set a good example and I want you to know how much I appreciate that.” Simple!

Action
Same idea as above. “Sue, I don’t know if anybody else has told you this, but your work on the Johnson account was excellent. You have a wonderful ability to communicate the vision of the project and that helps all of the rest of us out in our roles and tasks. Thanks for that. It is greatly appreciated.”

Other ways you can show praise and appreciation is with a card, a gift, or time off from work.

Make it your goal to praise at least five people a day. If you can, praise ten people a day. Or perhaps you can try to praise everyone you come in contact with. It will take work but it is possible. It just takes discipline and a little work.

Any way you cut it though, there is power in praising people. First for them, then for you!

 by Chris Widener

Do you have multiple generations at your workplace? Do you recognize generational differences as a source of business value? You should. There are real profit opportunities embedded in today’s age-diverse workplace. Successfully blending generations is about cultivating a broader spectrum of talent that results from all of the people in your organization.
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There are generalizations about all generations but be very careful not to accept negative stereotypes, because those in the Silent or Traditional generation are not necessarily inept at programming the VCR, and all Millennials are not short on work ethic. Accurate insights into each other based on individual traits will be far more useful than limiting assumptions based on age.

That said, there always has and always will be differences between the youngest generation in the workforce and older generations, and that’s a good thing. Young people of every generation have a fresh perspective, a youthful energy and a burning desire to accomplish something worthwhile. If your organization treats them with respect and engages their enthusiasm, they will bring that attitude to work and accomplish something worthwhile for you.

Millennials will tend to have a lop-sided skill set when it comes to professional life; they aren’t alone. Our research at TTI shows that most young people graduate from college with little in the way of crucial professional skills such as decision making, problem solving and conflict management abilities. But older generations have skill deficits too, and often they don’t realize this until they are promoted into a position that requires skills they haven’t mastered yet or haven’t used in a long time. Comprehensive TTI job matching identifies which skills a person has some mastery in and which skills they need help building. And the TTI process provides their manager with a guide for professional development that is unique to each employee’s needs at every stage of their career.

Older generations have an outlook tempered by past experience allowing them to help younger workers avoid potential pitfalls before mistakes become real problems. They also have the battle-tested skills to realistically anticipate what it will take to move a business initiative from being just a great idea to becoming your company’s game-changing competitive advantage. But it can be all too easy for seasoned business people to let past experience limit what they think can be done. Millennials and Gen Xers can help them see new possibilities.

Young people may be idealistic about the extent and speed of change that’s possible in your organization, but then again, they may be the very change agents who make it happen! They aren’t limited by the way things have always been done and many are technologically advanced. Those that are tech savvy will be great candidates for mutual mentoring relationships with older workers who need to update their knowledge of social media and technical skills. Imagine this scenario: Jim, a recent college graduate, needs to upgrade his presentation skills in order to move from a help desk position to a sales position. Karen, a baby boomer with a strong sales career, needs to get up-to-speed quickly on new software to stay current in her role. Karen can help Jim hone his presentation skills, and Jim can coach her on mastering the new software. With his help, Karen can better integrate technology into her sales presentations, and Jim will be ready to hit the ground running after practicing his presentations with her. The key is for both parties to recognize the value that the other brings to the table.

Sounds ideal, right? But imagine if Jim and Karen have very different communication styles. Karen may favor quick decision-making and a rapid pace, while Jim may prefer to establish a steady pattern and a relationship with others over time. For their mutual mentoring relationship to be successful, they need an accurate understanding of each other’s way of getting things done and communicating, and they can get that information about each other very easily with the TTI process.

The preferences of younger workers can improve communication and connection within your company and with customers. A great example of Gen X and Millennial-inspired business change is using social media to share consumer opinions about products and service experiences. Facebook and Twitter have become vital ways for businesses to respond quickly to customers and demonstrate to the world that the company cares about them. Millennials drove this change because they like to connect with others to share their experiences, and they like to use social media for consumer reviews. The youngest generation also prefers to get feedback on their own on-the-job performance in the form of frequent, small course corrections, not just once or twice a year in a formal review. This change is also gaining momentum as a best practice.  

Are you curious about what other new business practices are headed your way? When it comes to being prepared for change, part of your strategy should be to listen to your Gen Xs and Gen Ys. Change is inevitable, and the priorities and concerns these two generations express will drive much of the change that’s coming. Many of the preferences of Millennials will boost productivity and engagement and often are preferences shared by Boomers and Gen Xers.

For example, younger generations have a real commitment to work/life balance. After hearing their Boomer parents complain about growing up without Dad ever attending a soccer game, they’re not going to do that to their own kids. They are fine with taking care of business through email or text at all hours, but they are resolute about wanting the flexibility to get work done without neglecting their personal lives, too.

When you think about their circumstances, it makes sense. Unlike older generations, who often had a wife at home to take care of family necessities, couples today are probably both employed. This means that someone has to take time off from work to take the kids to the dentist or attend the school play. They must shift focus from work to home as situations evolve; and if we want to retain them, we need to make it possible for them to do it while continuing to be productive at work.

Using technology to enable life balance and provide flexible work options makes sense. There is a shift underway in the business world, from defining work as time spent at the office to measuring performance by the results produced. Using mobile technology and flexible scheduling makes it possible to shift the focus toward results.

The flexible work options Millennials and Gen Xers want will support organizations in building bench strength. Companies that offer flexible work options will encourage Baby Boomers and Silent Generation workers to stick around long enough to cultivate the next group of rising stars. Many of them will use this flexibility to ease into retirement gradually, which will give the organization time to transfer their knowledge and engage them to help cultivate the next group of leaders. Think of the possibilities when the valuable knowledge of long-term employees can be easily passed to newer ones.

As time goes by and older generations do retire, the pool of available workers will be Gen X and Millennials who tend to have a dual-centric (i.e, work/life balance), rather than a work-centric focus. In order to attract the best and brightest candidates, employers will have to compete by offering the best employment proposition possible. Being branded as an employer who makes it possible to thrive both personally and professionally may shift from being a competitive advantage to being a necessity. To make the most of the talent you have:

Don’t dismiss older generations: The Silent Generation grew up with face-to-face staff meetings that encouraged the development of relationships. There is something to be said about seeing a person while talking to them versus chatting over instant-messaging. Body language and voice intonation are lost in newer forms of communication, meaning that newer isn’t always better.

Provide variety and engaging development experiences for younger workers: Stretch assignments and cross training keep them interested and build their career prospects while enhancing their value to your organization. Help them develop a career path and give personalized development plans that encourage them to stay engaged with your company as they grow. Use TTI job benchmarks to give clear expectations and match them to the right job for success.

Make good use of Millennials’ strong team orientation and global, networking mindset: If you’re not using informal learning networks and information sharing tools yet, younger workers can show you how they do it. For the generation that grew up with massive multi-player online video games, team work is second nature.

Give everyone the tools to engage in meaningful, mutual mentoring efforts: Be sure that everyone’s contributions are heard and respected and help them share their strengths. When both parties understand how the other likes to receive communication, make decisions, pace their work and what motivates them to action, it smooths the way for collaboration. Use TTI assessments and team training to blend generations successfully.

Established ways of doing business will continue to change as global markets expand and technology accelerates. TTI research shows that the primary skills to thrive with change are flexibility, resiliency, personal accountability and a willingness to keep learning. These are the most important characteristics for being successful. That’s true for every generation.

Contact a TTI Value Added Associate to make sure you are making the most of the talent in your organization.   www.hiremax.com

Aristotle said that the ultimate aim or purpose or human life is to achieve your own happiness. You are the very happiest when what you are doing on the outside is congruent with your values on the inside. When you are living in complete alignment with that which you consider to be good, right, and true, you will automatically feel happy and positive about yourself and your world.

Know What You Really Want
Stephen Covey once said, “Be sure that, as you scramble up the ladder of success, it is leaning against the right building.” Many people work hard to achieve goals that they think they want only to find, at the end of the day, they get no joy or satisfaction from their accomplishments. They ask, “Is this all there is?” This occurs when the outer accomplishment is not in harmony with your inner values. Don’t let this happen to you.

Trust Your Intuition
Self-trust is the foundation of greatness. Self-trust comes from listening to your intuition, to your “still, small voice” within. Men and women begin to become great when they begin to listen to their inner voices and absolutely trust that they are being guided to a higher power each step of the way. Living in alignment with your true values is the royal road to self-confidence, self-respect, and personal pride. In fact, almost every human problem can be resolved by returning to values.

Watch Your Behavior
How can you tell what your values really are? The answer is simple. You always demonstrate your true values in your actions and especially your actions under pressure. Whenever you are forced to choose between one behavior and another you will always act consistent with what is most important and valuable to you at that moment. Values, in fact, are organized in a hierarchy. You have a series of values, some of them very intense and important and some of them weaker and less important. One of the most important exercises you can engage in to determine who you really are and what you really want is to organize your values by priority. Once you are clear about the relative important of your values, you can then organize your outer life so that it is in alignment with them.

Determine Your Hearts Desire
The spiritual teacher Emmet Fox wrote about the importance of discovering your “hearts desire.” What is your hearts desire? As a friend of mine asks, “What do you want to be famous for?” What words would you like people to use to describe you when you are not there? What would you like someone to say about you at your funeral? What kind of reputation do you have today? What kind of reputation would you like to have sometime in the future?

Your Past is Not Your Future
Many people had difficult experiences growing up. They fell on hard times and became associated with the wrong people. Some were convicted and sent to prison for crimes. But at a certain point in life, they decided to change. They thought seriously about what kind of person they wanted to be known as, and thought of, in the future. They decided to change their lives by changing the values that they lived by. By making these decisions and sticking to them, they changed their lives. Remember, it doesn’t matter where you’re coming from; all that really matters is where you’re going.

Action Exercise
Describe your picture of an ideal person, the person you would most want to be if you had no limitations.

by Brian Tracy
A Positive Moment from the Wendling Group