12 Questions to ask yourself
Several years ago, Gallop surveyed over a million white-collar employees and managers. The results led to the identification of twelve questions that need to be asked. Companies, where employees said yes to most of these questions, were far more engaged, productive, and happy. What is your answer to these questions?
Do I know what is expected of me at work?
Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work correctly?
At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
Does my supervisor or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
At work, do my opinions seem to matter?
Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
Are my co-workers committed to doing high-quality work?
Do I have a best friend at work?
In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
This last year, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?
The good news is that in most cases, managers can create an environment where employees could say yes to these questions. The bad news is that the survey found that few managers created this kind of situation. So if you're a manager, the heat is on. If you want exceptional results, you must work towards twelve yes's. It's not easy, but it is pretty simple. After all, the questions lead the way. Take the time to make sure your folks know what is expected. Make sure they have materials and resources, notice positive behaviors, hold people accountable for doing good work, etc. Make the effort, carve out a few minutes and you can create a workplace where your folks do say yes to these questions.
If you want help with this my complementary hour consult is a great first step.
But what if you're an employee and one of the many unfortunate employees without an exceptional manager? You probably had to answer no to a number of these questions.
The pressure is off, right? It's your manager's responsibility; it's on her to create the environment after all. So bad boss, your career is toast and best of all, it's not your fault.
Not so fast, while I don't believe its worth your time or energy to try to change your boss, you can spend your energy to focus on exploring ways you can move from no to yes on as many questions as possible.
Let's take the low hanging fruit first; ask questions to understand your boss's expectations. Persist until you understand her expectations in terms of specific, observable actions. You may even need to offer your boss a menu of actions or outcomes to help launch the conversation. Don't confront, be honestly curious, and be prepared to hear some hard truths.
This approach will work with many of these questions. Be courageous and ask, so you acquire both the information and tools to perform at a higher level. Do you need recognition? Everyone does, so ask for it. Want to job craft and do more of what you love, ask.
Learning what you need and how to ask is hard work. I will admit that asking doesn't ensure success, but its work is worth it because you will be developing a valuable, unique skill that will serve you throughout your career. This takes courage, tenacity, and self-awareness, but the payoff is huge for you and your company. Set up a session with me. It's complimentary, that's a free hour to help you define what brings out your best.
I used Gallop's 12 questions to create a short quiz that will help you pinpoint where to focus your efforts. Take the quiz and schedule a complimentary session to explore what to do to love Mondays again.
- denise