I believe a person’s attitude plays a significant role in how well they perform their job. While you can attempt to mask your feelings, ultimately, those feelings come through in your performance. As a business leader, how aware are you of a person’s attitude? When do you realize something is amiss with your attitude or that of the people around you?
For example, people do a great job even if they are overworked, underpaid, or both, but only for so long. A person’s attitude reflects subtly in how they talk as well as their energy level, facial expressions, body language, and willingness to go above and beyond. So, the best way for a relationship to be mutually beneficial is for both parties to understand what mutually helpful means.
An example of where to start:
- Identify what is important to you. In any relationship, the focus begins with what is important to you. This is a positive step. This is empathy and putting the oxygen mask on yourself first. You cannot help others if you put yourself last.
- Once you know what is essential to you, discover what is important to the other person. Become deeply curious, sharpen your listening skills, and empathize with others. You can be understanding without agreeing with the other person. Employ principle#4 from Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and become genuinely interested in other people.
- Set clear expectations so that both parties understand the ground rules. This applies to employer-employee, peer, vendor, and client relationships. Watch for warning signs – the point when you begin to doubt yourself or others. This is your inner critic, and it is destructive. It is also why identifying what is important to you is critical.
A person’s attitude impacts job performance. Knowing what impacts that attitude puts you in a better position to manage expectations for both of you. Here are two examples of how job performance was influenced by the attitude of the person providing service to me this week:
- My doctor sent a prescription to my pharmacy for specific eye drops. This is normal for cataract surgeries. The pharmacist was in a bad mood, which impacted his attitude and job performance. While I got the right eye drops, the instructions on the label were utterly wrong. I caught this error and returned to the pharmacy. Attitudes will impact job performance, positively or negatively.
- I had an IT emergency yesterday and contacted Daniel Tobon, CISSP, at 6:30 am. Danny’s positive attitude is what I admired most, and he addressed my concern quickly. Tsquared Technologies is a stellar company that lives up to the statement, ‘Tsquared stands on the foundation that tech and IT, when done right, can enhance how a company does business.”
In summary, spend time getting to know yourself, the people you depend on, and who rely on you. A person’s attitude is always on display; pay attention.