“Tell Me Something Good”
By: Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist
I recently came across an interesting statistic attributed to the Gallup organization that suggests that 75% of us are at some level of disengagement with life. That essentially means that 25% of those surveyed were satisfied (happy) with where they were at in life. Does this carry over into the workplace? Absolutely.
Clint Swindall of Verbalocity Inc., a personal development company, breaks it down a bit further. “There are three types of people in an organization: 32 percent who are engaged, 50 percent who are disengaged and 18 percent who are actively disengaged. The actively disengaged people are called the “Oh No’s” because they dread being asked to work. The engaged people are called the “Oh Yes’s” because they will do whatever is asked of them with enthusiasm no matter what the task is.”
As humans it is really easy for us to get caught up in the negativity around us. Let’s face it…it is really difficult for most of us (75%) to see the opportunity in a given situation whether it is in our professional or personal life. What do you discuss at work or at home at the dinner table? The good stuff that happens during your day or the things that could have been better?
So the bigger question is what do we do about it? Clint Swindall suggests that we replace the traditional greeting of “How are you?” with “Tell me something good.” I can assure you that you will receive some really odd looks the first time you try it. However, some people will be more than willing to share something good about what is going on at work or at home. It will take some time, but maybe some of those “Oh No’s” will become “Oh Yes’s” in the workplace.
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.
