Episode #47 - Jackie Martin Talks about Connection and Motivation at Work

Permission to Speak Podcast. Hosted by Leadership Communications Expert Kelly Vandever. Episode #47 - Jackie Martin. Permission to Speak is the video blog and podcast that loiters at the intersections of leaders who want their people to speak up, technology that facilitates connections, and results that serve an organization’s higher purpose. Topics covered in this episode include: -Work shouldn’t suck-Life is too short for that-Jackie was fortunate to work for a great company when she was early in her career-Rifts come from leading from positional authority rather than about relationships-Each employee at that company had a personal professional development budget-Allowed employees to get a massage onsite during the work day-Grew an attachment to the company and the leaders that said it would be that way-Creating a connected work place-Leaders don’t need to be separated from those they’re leading, especially today, people expect relationships-People leave/stay because of their relationship with their leader-A leader’s job is to connect with their employee, to connect the individual’s job and goals to the company goals, and to connect team members to one another-Creating a relationship, as a leader, it starts with attitude-Leaders are responsible to serve the people on your team-Leaders are judged on the work of their team-Being great at a specific job doesn’t mean you’ll be a good leader of people who do that job-The attitude shift helps change behaviors-It feels more like, I’m coming along beside you-Leaders need to know their individual employee’s goals and needs-Be seen as a resource as a leader-Invest in the person, notice them doing something right, or if they’re struggling, coach them-As a leader communicate to your employees that your success is important to me-Silo-ing in an organization-Don’t foster competition across teams-Focus on collaboration-Share praise-Set the tone that we will work well together-Rather than listening to an employee complain about another employee, ask them if they’ve gone to that employee to address the issue-Extrinsic and intrinsic motivators-Every company has a culture, whether it’s been done intentionally or not-The better question is, “Is our culture serving us?”-Example of company who has a zero tolerance policy on gossip-Even if the larger culture isn’t good, you can still make difference within your group as a leader-You can pull your team together, ask them what we can do in our department to make this a better place to work-John Maxwell says leadership is influence-Identify what it takes to be a strong leader in your organization first in order to hire/promote anyone into a leadership position-There are millennials that have great traits that should be on the leadership track-One employer mentioned what they look for in job candidates is energy-An award winning hotel mentioned they hire people who are happy, you can’t train happy-You can teach skills, you can’t teach attitude-Make eye contact-At a meeting, contribute to the meeting and do it early, put yourself out there-Having a team isn’t always easy-Because we’re human beings, companies and especially employees can be incredibly forgiving-Be yourself, be authentic-You won’t get it right every time, it’s a process-This new generation in the work place really wants to make a difference-The new generation is excited about the possibilities