Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Enthusiasm! @ Work
Enthusiasm! @ Worksm
By Antoinette S. Webster
There is a lot to be said about enthusiasm, in general, and specifically how it touches each aspect of our lives and work. Now work can relate to what a person gets paid to do, such as a job or from his or her own business. And it also relates to volunteering, avocations, etc.
Understanding the basic dynamics of enthusiasm, busting some myths, discovering how it is experienced and expressed, pave the way to:
- greater work satisfaction because people and work teams connect with what causes them to be enthusiastic and learn how to bring that to their work on an ongoing basis.
- improved productivity when people and teams are inspired and inwardly motivated, which causes them to want to and choose to do better quality work.
- greater ease and flow as people and teams discover their natural rhythms while honing their skills, talents and abilities.
- streamlined systems as people, teams and leaders capitalize on their personal and collective strengths. This enables them to look for a better way to do what needs to be done, with greater efficiency.
- higher levels of creativity and innovation, which has a natural, strong link to accessing enthusiasm along with cognitive, and often intuitive, abilities.
- enhanced team effectiveness partly due to the ‘contagious’ nature of enthusiasm. And yet it is more than that when you consider people are able to show up more fully, do work they enjoy or work in ways that bring them satisfaction, allowing them to make a contribution to something greater than themselves.
- sharper levels of clarity and focus simply due to the fact that when we are tapped into the energy/power/force/experience/expression of enthusiasm, we are in the present moment. The present moment allows us to see and do things in ways that bring about fascinating results.
- more effective communication with ourselves, our co-workers, colleagues, teams, vendors and clients. The more we discover about ourselves, the more we can learn about others. Understanding ourselves and others allows for communicating in ways that are clear, concise, respectful and achieve desired results.
- stronger leaders and managers who, in addition to the above factors, are able to co-create places where people: enjoy working, know what is expected of them, are able to do their best work and understand how they fit in with the overall plan.
- increased profitability that comes from improved productivity and increased effectiveness.
- reduced stress as a natural result, especially in light of the above factors. People begin to respect and take better care of themselves. Organizations choose to find better, more effective ways to get the job done; treat their most valuable resource—their people—with care and respect; and continue to harness the power of enthusiasm throughout the organization.
There is so much more to Enthusiasm! @ Worksm than what most people realize. Becoming aware of the what, why and how is just the first step.
Antoinette Webster M.E!, MBA, is the author of Enthusiasm! How To Draw It To Yourself and Keep It, Igniting the Spark of Enthusiasm! and the forthcoming Enthusiasm! @ Worksm series. She is a Master Enthusiast who has been facilitating programs, researching and writing about enthusiasm since 1990.
