A recent survey by the international consulting firm, BlessingsWhite revealed that overall employee engagement at work is directly tied to how much an employee feels they are appreciated by their manager and the company executives. In these challenging economic times it is easy for leaders to overlook the needs of their employees because they are so focused on profitability and survival. This may manifest itself in a failure to recognize and reward achievements, provide resources necessary to do the job, provide feedback on performance, and ask for input on projects and initiatives.

The survey outlined specific steps for managers and leaders to take in order to help get their teams engaged but it failed to layout an action plan for what employees can do when they find themselves unappreciated and disengaged. I invite you to consider the following action steps to help you if you are feeling unappreciated at work.

1. Reconnect with your purpose. Your purpose answers the question, Why am doing what I am doing each day at work? Is it for the verbal affirmation you receive from others, is it for the money, or is it for the impact your are having on others? Perhaps you’ve forgotten your “big why”, if so, recommit to it today.
2. Identify what makes you feel appreciated. We are all so different when it comes to what makes us feel appreciated. For some it is pay increases, for others it is public or private recognition of their efforts, for others it is simply knowing that you made a difference and helped someone. Reflect on what makes you feel appreciated. Write down a list of 3-5 actions and then analyze this list to make sure what you’ve written is emotionally healthy and realistic to expect from others, especially your boss.
3. Commit to sharing your gifts and talents with others at work. Take a look around you and identify people that you can impact right away with your gifts and talents. Look to serve others and use your gifts and talents without an expectation of anything in return. Take action, speak into someone’s life, help someone with a project, go the extra mile. You may feel like your already doing this but if you are disengaged and feeling unappreciated you might be doing it with a heavy heart and it probably shows in your performance.
4. Consult with a trusted advisor. Sometimes we can get so caught up in our emotions and the dysfunction we witness at work that we lose sight of healthy and appropriate expectations. A friend, mentor, or coach is a great person to speak into our lives and give us guidance in these situations.
5. Meet with your boss to explain how you’re feeling. The toughest action step is to share your concerns with your boss. From experience I will tell you that you want to make sure you don’t go in and simply complain to your boss. Rather, take the time to share your concerns, outline how you feel appreciated, and ask if the two of you could brainstorm ways to help you feel appreciated resulting in a higher engagement level at work. In essence come in with a framework for discovering a solution to the problem.
6. Identify areas where you can make a contribution outside of work. Volunteering your time outside of work at a homeless shelter, your church, your local chamber of commerce, or schools allows you to experience the bigger picture of life. Not that your concerns at work are not a valid but sometimes serving others and helping those in need helps us gain clarity around our own needs and expectations from others.

I hope you find these actions steps relevant and something you can implement if you are struggling with a lack of appreciation and feelings of disengagement at work.

Make it a great day!

Coach Dan

What To Do When You Feel Unappreciated At Work is a post from: Coach Dan Foster

In the past I have shared with you the importance of working from a priority management plan. One of the key elements of a successful priority management plan is dedicating time in your schedule to focus on targeted areas for professional growth and development. This routine is what coaches refer to as ON TIME. Unfortunately, it is an important block of time that often gets pushed aside or never scheduled by professionals. However, the professionals that do make and keep a commitment to ON TIME  regularly are much more likely to succeed in reaching their long-term vision for success. 

Consider these five reasons why I believe ON TIME is so important:

1. ON TIME changes your THINKING. So often we are stuck only thinking about the day-to-day operations of our business. When we have our head and heart constantly focused in the minutia of the day-to-day we can easily loose sight of where we are going and the vision we are trying to achieve.
2. ON TIME gets you FOCUSED on PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. John Maxwell says, “You can’t give away, what you don’t possess.” If you are not taking the time to learn new skills, study your industry’s best practices, and grow as a professional you will not be able to serve your team, clients, and those you love as good as if you did make this a priority.
3. ON TIME allows you to REVIEW your STRATEGY. Your vision may stay relatively the same over the years, but we all know that external forces may require us to change the strategy we follow to reach that vision. ON TIME allows you to review your goals, team production year to date, and analyze if your current strategy is working in today’s market.
4. ON TIME provides an OPPORTUNITY for PLANNING.  The most common excuse for not planning that I hear from people I coach is that they just don’t have time. ON TIME gives you permission to take time for planning the next 30-60-90 days of your business. If your strategy review indicates a new plan is needed, ON TIME allows you to work on that plan, giving you an advantage over your competition that may not be reviewing strategy or planning.
5. ON TIME allows for a RENEWAL of your COMMITMENTS. When you change your thinking from the day-to-day to the big picture, you have the opportunity to reflect on and recommit to your purpose, convictions, and overall vision. Stepping away from the fast pace of life is so important for spiritual, physical, and mental renewal. ON TIME re-energizes you around your goals and vision.

Give yourself permission to schedule ON TIME into your calendar. It not only benefits you but it helps you become a better leader and servant to those you love and work with each day.

Question: Do you have ON TIME scheduled on your calendar?

Make it a great day!

Coach Dan

The Importance of ON TIME is a post from: Coach Dan Foster

In the past, I’ve written about the need to have a personal development plan as a part of your strategy for becoming a better leader. Last week, at the Building Champions Experience, I had the opportunity to attend a breakfast with author and speaker, Michael Hyatt. In his presentation, Michael made the case for how a personal development plan will help you go further faster in your career and personal life. Here are my takeaways from Michael’s presentation:

The first step in going further faster is to know where you are going. Michael’s recommendation was to set aside time to ask yourself a few important questions:

1. What is my purpose for wanting to grow in this area?
2. What do I want achieve from my growth in this area?
3. What is my vision for where I want to be in 5, 10, 15, 20 years from now as it relates to this specific area of my life?

There are three reasons why someone would want to go further faster:

1. You want to speed up the learning process to get to your destination faster.
2. You don’t want to reinvent the wheel, and prefer to learn from the successes and failures of others.
3. You want to avoid the common mistakes that are made along the way.

There are three ways to go further faster:

1. Read the best and most relevant information related to the specific area you want to improve in. Utilize resources like Google, Wikipedia, blogs, books, and books summaries.
2. Sign up for specialized classes in the specific area you desire to improve in. Look for outdoor retreats, half-day classes, internet classes, and courses at your local college.
3. Hire world class experts to personally coach you. If you have the money look at the expense as an investment in your future development. If you don’t have the money, then look for a pastor, friend, peer, or someone that is willing to mentor you.

Going Further Faster with Michael Hyatt is a post from: Coach Dan Foster

This past weekend I ran the Hood to Coast Relay race with my friends at Building Champions and a few of their clients from around the country. Competing in the Hood to Coast Relay was a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) that I set for myself back in early May of this year. I was looking for something to take me out of my comfort zone and challenge me in area of my Life Plan that needed something more than just daily routine and activities. When my friend, Steve Scanlon, called me and asked me to join the team, I knew I had found what I was looking for. Now, almost four months later this BHAG goal has been accomplished and I’ve learned so much from the experience.

As I reflect on my experience of running Hood to Coast I’ve identified four take away lessons from the 200 mile race to share with you today:

1. While my training was good and I felt prepared, I quickly identified areas of weaknesses and for growth in my training and performance. This is something that often happens in life and business as well. We practice for an event, we learn a new skill, we watch or listen to others that are experts, but until we are actually performing we don’t see every angle and we can’t know how certain factors will effect the outcome of our performance. I learned not to be frustrated in these areas but to learn from them and setup a plan to improve in these areas for my next race.
2. Achieving a BHAG goal requires mental toughness and a strong commitment to your goal. There were times when wanted to quit. That quiet little voice inside my head was telling me, I had bitten off more than I can could chew and that I needed to stop. My body ached and my muscles were sore. While running my last leg,  4 plus miles up hill in the Oregon coastal mountain range at around 3:30AM, I had to dig in and push myself towards my goal like I never have before. My commitment to completing the race is what kept pushing me forward. I thought of the pain in my body and I thought of the pain of not completing my leg and quitting the race. The pain of the latter was more than I was willing to bear and would last far longer than the physical pain I was going through early that morning.
3. Having a shared vision and supportive team was essential to the team’s overall success. My team was made up of administrative staff, small business owners, executive coaches, and sales professionals. Each of us knew the vision of the team and made sure we encouraged each other along the way. Whether it was an encouraging word, a bottle of water, or a slap on the butt, knowing that you had your team by your side was essential to each of us completing our individual legs and the entire race. I could not have asked for a better group of people to share this experience with.
4. I learned that my natural inclination is to quit when facing very difficult challenges. This is something that is difficult to write because it goes against everything I’ve ever imagined about how I would react. This natural inclination is obviously a protective inclination that we’ve been given to protect us from danger. However, if we always succumb to that inclination I don’t think we could ever achieve a true BHAG goal. I guess I always thought I would naturally be able to stand up to adversity and challenge. This past week I learned I could not do that on my own and that I had to fight the temptation to quit, and if I did not have my team and support at home, I probably would have given up.

Three days after the race and I am still struggling with physical pain and a right foot that I cannot stand on for more than about 30 minutes without being in pain. My thoughts and focus though continue to be on the excitement of achieving my goal and my plan for making my next race even better.

Lessons Learned From Achieving a Big Hairy Audacious Goal is a post from: Coach Dan Foster

In these challenging times, I believe that we need great leaders and we need them now! A little over a year ago I wrote a post entitled, The Ten Attributes of a Great Leader. It has since become the most popular post I have ever written. This past week I had the privilege of speaking to the Newberg Rotary club about leadership development and the need for everyone to discover their unique leadership style.

In my speech I discussed the importance of each leadership attribute, provided a leadership example, and discussed how these attributes impact the culture of an organization. I provided my audience with a Leadership Development Tool, designed to help them seize leadership opportunities in their home, community, and organization.

I hope you enjoy the presentation. Please let me know if I can help you in your leadership development!

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Make it a great day!

Coach Dan

If you are interested in having me speak to your group or team, Click Here.

KEYNOTE: 10 ATTRIBUTES OF A GREAT LEADER is a post from: Coach Dan Foster