by 
I am really dumbfounded of how some people go about their day like they work so hard and deserve to be paid for the work that they do. When you ask them if they are making a difference, they usually respond, “Yes, we are so busy and working so hard”
Everyday, we must make a difference in our lives. This begins at home with our families and extends into the workplace. If we ignore what is happening at home, it will have an effect on our work.
Making a Difference is not: “working hard”, “being busy”, “putting in 8 hours”. – Making a difference is taking things up to another level. I am working with my team on this particular topic.
How many of you have a project list and review those projects on a weekly basis. After a few weeks, it is easy to see that some projects are not getting any attention and have in fact stopped or have not been addressed. This becomes frustrating as a manager. Typically, these projects involve work above and beyond the normal business activity for the day. This is why they are projects! This is why they are assigned a project manager.
Today, there are hundreds of distractions affecting all of us. Lately, the highest distraction is the internet. How many of your employees check their Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin Accounts? What about you? Are you also checking your updates on these platforms? or are you reading the latest news and headlines on the internet? How is the time spent on these platforms and news sites making a difference in your work? My guess is it is pulling you away from the real work you should be doing. I won’t even go into texting and smartphone use.
My point here is that to be an effective leader, you really need to lead by example and make sure your team is on task and striving for more productivity each day and implementing ideas into action for the company. People need to make a difference if a company is going to be successful. I also know that a number of people are content with what they do and do not want to make a difference. These type of people need to be identified and eliminated or highly micro-managed in order for success to occur.
Make a difference today!
- Get some people together and solve a production issue.
- Develop some new ideas to further research to see if it is a good fit for the company.
- Talk about the accomplishments of your team.
- Set specific goals for the day and week to insure everyone understands the expectations for these projects.
- Develop a social media campaign and track it for a week to see what type of responses you get.
Overall, make sure people see you making a difference everyday and that you want to see your company grow and succeed. Don’t settle for anything less.
Image courtesy of pakorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
