Choose your attitude

You can influence your own working day.

We spend a lot of our time at work. Most of us want to enjoy our time here, and contribute with positive impact on our working day. Most people also want a high degree of impact on how we spend our own time and carry out our own tasks. There is a huge difference between being told to work overtime, – and offering to work overtime. When we are given a framework, most of us want as much freedom as possible within this framework. According to Annicken R. Day, the founder and head of Corporate Spring, we primarily want five things:

1. We want to do things that matter
2. We want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves
3. We want the power to influence
4. We want to make a difference
5. We want to learn, – and we want to develop

Many of these points are fundamental for improving our working day – and in turn fundamental for impacting our performance. Wherever we feel that we are making a contribution and being recognized – that is when we will flourish and become even better.

There is another important aspect to consider: how we ourselves behave. We have a responsibility as colleagues and employees to make our working day the best day possible. We have the power to choose what kind of a day we are going to have, and how we behave in relation to our colleagues and customers.

The book “FISH” by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen, is a must read for everybody who want to understand how your own attitude affect your workday, and how to “boost morale and improve results”. The book is an easy to read story and provides specific tips and hints about what you can do. The book concludes with stories from real life, and input from people who have changed their lives by thinking about the essence of the book and the lessons it teaches. The book is a management manual for everyone to read – managers and employees alike, and it is highly recommended for all levels in an organization. This is a good way to agree on certain rules of conduct and behavior internally, and that everybody agrees on. This subsequently becomes the company’s culture and attitude, and everyone has been involved in determining what the culture should be.

Here is what the people in the book agreed on for their culture:

Our workplace. As you enter this place of work, please choose to make today a great day. Your colleagues, customers, team members, and you yourself will be thankful. Find ways to play. We can be serious about our work without being serious about ourselves. Stay focused in order to be there when your customers and team members most need you. And should you feel your energy lapsing, try this sure-fire remedy: find someone who needs a helping hand, a word of support, or a good ear – and make their day.

I encourage everyone to “choose your attitude” every day, before walking in the front door at work.

“Choose to make today a great day”!