A few weeks ago, I attended a performance of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, “Oklahoma!”, performed by a professional touring company, at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. It wasn’t West End (Britain’s Broadway), but it was close. Very close.

At the end of the show, the audience showed its intense appreciation for the outstanding performance with thunderous and sustained applause. From a seated position. The cast took their bows. The audience kept clapping, and hooting, and whistling, and shouting. And sitting.

As a big fan of musical theatre, and the father of a musical theatre major, I’ve been to lots of shows. In my experience, in the United States, unless a performance is embarrassingly lousy, it gets a standing ovation, deserved or not. Once in a while, after a truly remarkable performance, the standing O is spontaneous, immediate, and unanimous. More often, it starts with a few enthusiastic supporters, then those who think “Yeah, that was really good. I guess I’ll stand like these other people,” and finally a more reluctant group who stand so they don’t look like soreheads.

I belong to a professional association whose annual conventions (the last 19 of which I have attended) feature some of the best professional speakers in the world. Many of them have deserved a standing ovation; virtually all of them have received one. More than once, I’ve asked a friend sitting – er, standing, nearby, “Did you really think that was all that great?” to be answered, “Not really, but I think we should be supportive of each other, so I always stand at the end.”

I respectfully, and supportively, disagree.

Standing ovations, like the top rating on a performance evaluation, should be reserved for those performances that are truly distinguished in their excellence. When everybody gets a “5”, “Outstanding”, or “Consistently Exceeds Expectations”, it cheapens the feedback meant to be imparted by an evaluation.

I’m all for positive feedback. But I’m even more in favor of accurate feedback. Become known as a straight shooter. When someone’s got room for improvement, let them know, then help them get the rest of the way. We’re doing no favors when we tell people they’ve reached the summit, when the summit is actually just a few yards away. Reserve the standing ovations for those performances that are truly in a singular place at the top.

Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk, and the followup Contented Cows MOOve Faster. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

While I’ve visited lots of places prone to seismic activity, I’ve never actually experienced an earthquake. Not even a tremor. I’m not complaining. And only when I think about things like January’s horrific quake in Haiti, or my upcoming trip to San Francisco do I even give earthquakes much thought.

And so on my recent trip to Lima, Peru, to speak for the Human Capital Forum, I was a little creeped out when I began to see the ubiquitous sign designating safe areas in case of “sismos”, Spanish for earthquakes. Now, Peruvians don’t play at earthquakes. Their most recent bad one, in 2007, killed more than 500 people. And the history of Lima, Peru’s capital, is more or less defined by any given event’s relation to the earthquake of this year or that year. And so I’m not sure I entirely believe the little green signs’ claim that the area around it happens to be safe, if the ground decides to yawn real big. Nevertheless, had the shaking started, I’d have been the first one to the green sign.

The sign, “Safe zone, in case of earthquakes” made me think, “Does the workplace have “safe zones”, someplace people can go, not when literal earthquakes strike, but when they feel the ground beneath their feet is wobbly, or that the walls around their lives are crumbling?”

Maslow, the Heirarchy of Needs guy, who knew more than he ever imagined about employee engagement, thought safety was pretty important. Right up there with basic survival needs. One thing that’s been reinforced in the economic earthquakes and tremors of the last couple of years is that fear paralyzes. Fear leads to preoccupation. And preoccupation and engagement are mutually exclusive.

In your outfit, where do people go when they don’t feel safe? From a workplace bully, or a boss that doesn’t quite “get” the zero tolerance thing on harrassment? Or harrassment notwithstanding, where can a person who respects the chain of command go when the next link up is the problem? Where’s the safe zone when you’re not sure your job’s going to be around, since nobody ever tells you anything about how the company’s doing?

Is there someone you can go to when you’ve lost the way on your career path? How about when things outside of work have gone haywire?

People need a safe zone. Whether it’s a human resources department doing what a human resources department should be doing, or a well-functioning employee assistance program and referral network, a good alternative dispute resolution process, or just someone who cares enough to listen, people need someone, someplace where they can “touch base” and know they’re going to be OK.

Looking for a way to get more out of your work experience? Create, or better yet, be, a safe zone.

Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk, and the followup Contented Cows MOOve Faster. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

We all know someone who’s looking for work or has stayed in a career that doesn’t fuel his or her work life. Harvey Mackay, the #1 New York Times Best Selling Author has just come out with a new book titled Use Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You. He thinks it’s his best work in two decades since Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, a lifetime business classic…and we agree!

In fact, Harvey’s so confident in this book he personally guarantees that if you buy this book, and do what it says, if you don’t have a job in six months he’ll give you your money back!

The book captures Harvey’s pragmatic, yet humorous style and shares easy to apply methods to:

· Rebuild personal confidence in the face of rejection

· Create a daily “recovery” program and job search plan

· Take advantage of the way firms and recruiters make hiring decisions

· Use state-of-the art networking strategies

· Learn the best questions to ask in interviews

A recent review by the prestigious Library Journal Review says:

“….this is a very useful book. The short chapters with descriptive titles make it easy to navigate, and Mackay offers tips—from changing your attitude to getting hired—both for those currently employed but wishing to position themselves better in their current companies and for those who are out of work. Highly recommended for job seekers and career changers at all experience levels.”

P.S. Go directly to www.harveymackay.com/jobsecrets or buy the book from a bookseller and visit the www.harveymackay.com/job secrets site with the book in hand.

Here’s where you can buy the book online (click on the link to go directly to Harvey’s book at the bookseller’s site):

Barnes and Noble

Borders

Amazon

800-CEO-READ

Indie booksellers

We think you’ll personally enjoy it and hope you’ll pass this offer along to a friend who needs a dose of Harvey Mackay’s clever wisdom and secrets to jumpstart their career and the economy.

Job satisfaction is on a steady decline in the U.S., according to a report released last week by the Conference Board, a non-profit global business research organization.

If these numbers don’t grab business leaders by the throat and compel them to take action, we don’t know what will. On top of a still-anemic economy and a near universal crisis of trust,  the very last thing employers need today is a bunch of disgruntled workers operating at well less than full power. But that’s exactly what most organizations are faced with.

Only 45% of workers in the CB survey say they’re satisfied in their jobs, down from 61% in 1987, the first year the study was conducted. Unlike the economy, this downward trend has been constant, not cyclical. Just like gravity, job satisfaction has gone one way in both good times and bad… down.

So, what’s worker satisfaction at your outfit? And what difference does it make?

Second question first. If you’ve been following us for any part of the last 12 years, you know our research shows that it makes a HUGE difference – to the bottom line. Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Period.

First question: What’s worker satisfaction like  where you work? How do you know? Have you done a survey lately to find out where your company stands with respect to employee satisfaction? If not, why not? If so, what did you do with what you learned from the survey? If you want some help with this, click here.

So, if workers are less satisfied at work now than they once were, what are the reasons? What’s the remedy?

In keeping with the last-in-first-out nature of this article, we’ll start with a remedy:

Manage Yourself First: People aren’t going to follow, let alone be energized and engaged by a leader who is confused, conflicted, or depressed. If you can manage yourself on your own, go to it. If not, find a coach or counselor to help.

Now to the reasons. We’ll offer two in this article, and what to do about them; then a few more next month.

Reason #1:

Author Daniel Pink probably hit on the kernel of rising dissatisfaction when he tweeted last week, “Meager money + Zero meaning = Record low job satisfaction.”  Increase the value of either of the two variables on the left side of Pink’s equation, and satisfaction is likely to rebound.

What to do about it

If you put any more money into the equation, do it in a way that serves to better differentiate (and reward) better performers. If more money’s not in the cards, or even if it is, leaders could substantially improve employee satisfaction and engagement, and thereby organizational results, by investing more meaning in people’s work. That takes two forms:

Make less meaningful work more meaningful.

• Take all the senseless BS out of people’s jobs – unnecessary tasks, paperwork, and CYA-related nonsense.
• When you ask someone to do something, use what they’ve done, or quit asking them to do it.
• Ask people to develop their own best ways to accomplish results, hold them accountable, and reward them for hitting targets.
• On the premise that we all need to see the needle move once in a while, give them some opportunities for quick wins.

Shine a light on the meaning that’s already there. This is the more likely problem, and it’s easier to fix.

• Create a clear line of sight between their work and real paying customers. Bank tellers need to know how processing transactions makes money for the bank. Most don’t have a clue. Dishwashers and prep cooks – how does their work make diners want to come back and spend more money? And every assistant administrator in a state community college needs a firm grasp of how the decisions they make impact the quality of education in their state.
• Here’s an assignment for today. Yes, today. Ask each team member to describe how their work is felt, ultimately, by the people who pay for what you do – customers, clients, patients, taxpayers, students, whatever you call them – the people without whom the organization would not exist. If they can’t do it, see the above bullet point.

Reason #2:

While some leaders run around telling people they’re “empowered” (gag), sadly, most of us are actually micromanaging people into less and less satisfaction.

One way to start doing something about that:

Build in flexibility. If at all possible, let go of your concern with when people show up to do their work, and what they’re doing every minute they’re on the premises. Trust us. No one ever said “I hate my job. It gives me too much control over my life.” This one will get you MAJOR satisfaction points, if you manage it well.

If work times must, by the nature of your business, coincide with customers’ and/or co-workers’ patterns, then ask your workforce to figure out a way to meet the needs of the business while providing people with maximum flexibility.

In fields where customer coverage and colleague coordination matters less, incent people to accomplish results, not punch a clock, real or imaginary. If you employ adults, treat them as such. Hold them accountable – really accountable – for excellent results, and let them figure out the best way to manage their schedules while meeting business needs. If you’ve hired the right people, they’ll LOVE their jobs.

Next month, we’ll look at a few more reasons people aren’t feeling the job love as much these days, and some remedies for each.

Til then, Godspeed.

*****

A thought leader in the arena of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. For more information about Bill, his partner Richard Hadden, and their work, please visit their website at www.contentedcows.com, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows

Bill and I just returned from the World Business Forum in New York City, where about 5000 people from around the globe assembled in Radio City Music Hall to hear speakers the likes of economist Paul Krugman, Patrick Lencioni, Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld, George Lucas, and Bill Clinton, and a host of others. The event was excellent, and I’m glad I went. Most of the speakers were really good. Some of them were outstanding. Here are a few random conclusions and observations:

• Far from the apocalyptic feel of a year ago, the economy’s getting better, but it’s not better enough yet.
• If Manhattan hotel room rates are any indication, New York’s healing is well under way.
• Note to all speakers everywhere: make it about your audience, not you. Those at this event who did that, rocked; those who didn’t sank like a rock.
• Even the state-of-the-art A/V system at Radio City Music Hall can’t make a bad PowerPoint look good.
• Too many CEO’s are lousy speakers. There’s no excuse for that.
• Even Bill Clinton, an excellent speaker, can’t perform at the top of his game after an overnight flight from the west coast.
• Despite the homogenization of English speech patterns, owing to mass media, there’s still a New York accent, and I love it.
• The world has changed. The principles of leadership have not. But their application has. And that’s precisely the message behind our new book, due out next year, entitled “Rebooting Leadership”. Sorry for the plug, but it fits.
• George Lucas would be cool, even without his films.
• Those giant pretzels you get on the street corner in NY used to be better.
• Nothing has yet been devised that can adequately replace human beings coming together in the same room to hear a live speaker. Nothing.

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Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/rehadden) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.