Do The Happiest People Really Have The Hardest Jobs?

“Do The Happiest People Really Have The Hardest

Jobs?”

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PRESENTS

© 2013 The Mudd Partnership | www.themuddpartnership.com | @muddpartnership | www.fb.com/muddpartnership

Rosabeth Moss Kanter recently wrote in the Harvard Business Review about why she thought that the happiest people appear to have some of the hardest jobs.Whilst Money acted as a benchmark, above a certain threshold – variously estimated to be between £40,000 & £60,000 PA – the cash to happiness correlation leveled itself out and didn’t exercise any greater inducement to engage. In short, it wasn’t by itself enough to, “Get people up-&-at ‘em for their daily work”!

Of course, in positive psychology terms doing emotionally fulfilling work is a key to enduring happiness, but not all work, or indeed all jobs, offer this opportunity to fulfill.

Engagement is a strong predictor of success whether it be in the work place or in almost any other area of your life, &, the level at which you engage can be a clear predictor of how happy and positive you are. First & foremost, engaged people pursue Mastery, Membership & all importantly, Meaning with Money being a distant fourth.

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Membership can be translated as Affiliation & both Meaning & Mastery are as Peter Senge describes in “The Fifth Discipline”, the need to clarify what is important to us and see the current reality more clearly (Meaning), &, continuing to expand and develop your ability to achieve the results you want (Mastery).

In the work place we need to be mindful of cultivating a Mastery of our skills, developing a sense of Affiliation with others, &, being Aristotle’s active seekers after meaning; which means not just focusing on our immediate tasks, but also on how we can make a difference by thinking ahead & being a Thinking Performer.

We are going to talk more about the Thinking Performer and how they can play a vital role in developing Super Performing Organisations and Businesses in future Blogs, but at The Mudd Partnership we also think that employees need to have these three key qualities in particular: Attunement, Buoyancy & Clarity?

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In Daniel H Pink’s new book, ‘To Sell Is Human’ he describes these three qualities like so:Attunement: A Highly Evolved Empathy;

Buoyancy: Bob The Builder’s Perkiness! In recent Blogs & newsletters on ‘Building Resilience’ we have described, ‘To be buoyant’ as an ability to recover quickly from change or misfortune & to recover ones shape and form; & Clarity: This could of course be Meaning in another guise, although in this instance Daniel H Pink describes it as, ‘Solving a problem nobody knew existed’!

Another ‘A’ we’d like to add to this list though is Astuteness, as it’s also this quality coupled with Networking Skills and Sincerity which will really help you survive Office Politics & Thrive in the workplace: And OK, it messes with the Mnemonic but The Mudd Partnership believes that Astuteness is also rather important!

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You’d think then that anyone in possession of these traits would be pretty much in command of their feelings and ultimately accepting of the principle that if you don’t feel it, ‘In the Here & Now, then Act It and the feeling will follow’! In a way yes, but it’s all about letting go, just a little, & that’s sometimes very scary, particularly if you don’t feel you have permission!

It will also come as no surprise that the latest research by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) has found that Happiness & High Performance are linked & ‘High Performance’ as regular followers of The Mudd Partnership Blogs, newsletters and visitors to our Website will know, is central to all we are trying to a achieve through our work whether that is with Individuals, Teams, Organisations or Businesses.

We understand of course that the Global Recession has undoubtedly introduced huge and unprecedented challenges for Organisations and Businesses, &, the ‘Happiness Factor’ (ergo Positivity) may well get squeezed out by the overwhelming stresses and pressures to React, Adapt, Respond, Absorb, Reposition and Survive! Positivity however, is recognised as a Key Driver of employee motivation and engagement, which in turn create the traction that can drive organisational performance, innovation and productivity.

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The Challenge then is for those in positions of Leadership, or Management to understand the connection and pay-off between Positivity & Performance and do all they can to make it a reality, or they may find they have an Organisation or Business characterised by the following as described by Rosabeth Moss Kanter: Decreased Communication; Increased Criticism & Blame; Decreased Respect; Increased Isolation; Decreased Initiative; An increasingly Inward Focus; Diminished Aspirations; Spreading Negativity; & ultimately widening Rifts, growing Inequities, Dysfunction and Breakdown!

So, what can we All do to counter the cynicism, the negativity, the lack of motivation, engagement, &, under performance in the workplace? The Mudd Partnership has a few things to suggest all drawn from our work in support of “High Performing Teams’, ‘Individual Excellence’, ‘Building Resilience’ & ‘Enhancing Performance’!

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1. Firstly, Become More Emotionally Aware:

Regular followers will know that we have Blogged before about Daniel Goleman and his groundbreaking work on Emotional Intelligence in the mid 1990’s; E.I. plays an important part in contributing to and sustaining a ‘Thriving Organisation or Business’ & is pre-figured by character traits such as Astuteness, Attunement, Buoyancy & being Clear; Whilst such acts as providing regular feedback on performance and assessment versus goals in the workplace enables employees to have more Clarity about where they stand and what they need to do (both more of, & less of);

2. Secondly, Create A Listening & Learning Culture:

If people believe their views are being heard and their thinking & ideas encouraged then this in turn will reinforce positive feelings; & as Peter Senge propounded, ‘Continual Learning’; Also require the privileged to Mentor & help others and provide opportunities for continual learning and growth;

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3. Thirdly, Model Behaviours

If you want Happy, Act Happy! Happier managers according to recent research by the ILM, consistently perform to a higher standard and if they think their Reports are also happy then there is a double bounce; Also don’t forget to reward initiative, reduce inequities & status differences and make Brainstorming a Habit.

4. Fourth, Delegate Decision Making

A manager who is Tough but fair is trusted by their Team, &, Trust is pivotal in the Psychological Contract which will underpin Positivity; So, wherever possible look for and act upon opportunities to build Trust by providing Direct Reports with a degree of Autonomy; Involve diverse cross-cutting teams in problem solving and nurture a culture of respect for talent and achievements, innovation and learning, without blame or censure;

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5. Celebrate Success

Communicate robustly and focus on the ‘Good News’; Raise aspirations by using and publicising ‘Small Wins’; Focus on Communicating Inspiring Goals which are larger than any Individual or Team and find a Grand Challenge to unite everybody & create a common purpose; Ensure information is shared across the whole organisation and that everyone is in the loop; & Finally

6. Spread Training & Development

Spread extra resources where you can & cast the net widely as most employees, &, at all levels, are motivated to seek opportunities to learn and develop, together with demonstrating their skills and capabilities; So don’t restrict opportunities to certain groups or levels within the Organisation or Business and look to foster Clarity, Commitment, Emotional Intelligence & Stamina.

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As Anton Chekov wrote in, The Seagull’, “The great thing is simply Stamina”!

To find out more about our work with High Performing Teams & developing Individual Excellence to drive forward Super Performing Organisations & Businesses Contact us through the Website, by Email, or LinkedIn & let us make a Compelling Case for working with You!

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Do The Happiest People Really Have The Hardest Jobs?

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Transcript of Do The Happiest People Really Have The Hardest Jobs?