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You know they’re out there . . . those stealthlike, dementorish ideas and attitudes that slither in and out of your workplaces, teams, and employees. They suck the life from your otherwise talented and able workforce until your ability to achieve success gets as flat as a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon on Black Friday.

They are the productivity snatchers—and they’re everywhere. (Cue scary music.)

What’s a leader to do? In recent years, some have just given up, blaming a critical, self-absorbed society and/or a sub-educated, coddled workforce that has no capacity or willingness to change. Others have invested thousands in motivational programs, online tools, and exhaustive training that only seem to make a small dent in the issue.

Ouch. Let me propose another solution. Let’s prevent the invasion of the productivity snatchers. For good. Here’s how.

1. Address the Questions.
“Where are we going as a business/department/team?”
“What change is coming next?”
“What’s next for me and my career? Do I even have a career here anymore?”

The average employee has those and more questions about your workplace swirling about in his head, and they take up valuable thought, creativity, and productivity bandwidth. Add these to all the other questions that circle in their head about their world outside of work (“is Iran making a bomb?” “will my kid ever leave home?” “who will win ‘Dancing with the Stars?’”) and it’s clear that focusing on the work won’t happen until the questions quiet down.

Of course, there’s good reason for these questions to emerge—none of them have easy, “right” answers today. And here’s a secret you may not realize-most leaders I talk to have the exact same questions, so feel less than capable of answering them for others.

When we’re not sure ourselves, we often opt to avoid saying anything for fear of being wrong. But when it’s too quiet, employee worry accelerates.

It’s time to address the questions. That doesn’t mean having all the answers—it means acknowledging and discussing the questions, and helping people understand why the answers may not be black or white.

There’s one way to do this best-talk to your people, really talk, often and always. Find ways to connect by voice rather than only email, since voices convey so much more meaning and emotion than words on the screen do. Finally, share everything you know, even if it’s framed by, “From where I sit, this looks like . . . “ or “Here’s what I know right now, and it may change, but . . “. Your words matter-don’t skimp on them.

2. Share Appreciation.
Acknowledgement is a powerful, meaningful, and free tool any leader can use all the time. But some leaders have taken to saying “thank you” as a replacement for “you can go now.” No wonder the average employee feels unappreciated and unnoticed—and those feelings zap their motivation.

It’s important for leaders to practice the art of acknowledgement by creating space in everyday events such as meetings or conference calls. For example, it takes about 30 seconds to say something like:

“Before we start our meeting, I want to take a minute and recognize the IT group, led by Sue and John. I personally appreciate the extra effort this team has made during the last few month’s implementation process, so thanks, folks.”

After you set the example, you can also make a point of asking others if there is recognition they want to share, too, as in “Anyone else have someone or something they want to congratulate?” You’ll be surprised at what you hear when you give people permission and space to share great things about others.

Whether you lead three people or three hundred, building a habit of giving ongoing, personal thanks can be a powerful vaccination against the productivity snatchers. A quick “I heard about what you did” shared in the doorway of a cubicle, a phone call out of the blue, or even a handwritten note gets noticed, talked about, and remembered.

3. Turn Toward the Sun.
Did you know that sunflower is one of the most productive flowers in the world? It’s inexpensively grown and highly versatile (we harvest snacks, yes, but also create oils, animal feeds and biofuels). Plus, the sunflower has been shown to remove toxic elements from the soil through its long roots and is being used successfully after large chemical spills. It is both beautiful (just try not to smile when you see one), and extremely useful.

What makes the sunflower so powerful? The sunflower’s key growth characteristic is that it always turns toward the sun, following it throughout the day and throughout its life. What if we did the same in our companies? What if we followed the positive, optimistic, and hopeful and turned away from the dark and damning?

Certainly we need to keep an eye on our emerging challenges and competition. But we have a choice of where we spend our time and attention. We can focus always on what’s wrong, worrisome, and broken—or we can turn toward the sun and make sure we’re paying attention to all that’s good and strong.

Neuroscience research has proven the benefits of positive thinking on productivity and success, and it’s a skill that’s accessible to all of us. As a leader, you can take control of your mindset, your words, and your actions and turn them toward the sun—and chase the productivity snatchers back into the darkness.

—

Darcy Eikenberg, ACC, is the author of Bring Your Superpowers to Work: Your Guide to More Clarity, Confidence & Control, and a popular leadership and workplace coach and speaker. Download a free chapter of the book, get her twice-monthly Community News, and get more free tips and tools on career and success site RedCapeRevolution.com.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 8:44 am and is filed under Career, Job Search, Online Career Space, Personal Branding, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.