Read the latest headlines and you may find yourself looking to book a far-away and much needed vacation in another country. The challenges continue and while the workplace is full of conversation regarding economic instability and a host of other topics, understanding our reactions to those around us may be impacting more than we realize.
Are you an infuser or a de-fuser? Very often employees in the workplace place emphasis on how others reactions impact them. However, a key to thriving in your position may lie upon the reflection on how our individual actions affect the whole organization. In today’s “do more with less” reality, taking the time to reflect and assess may seem like a luxury, but given the continued disengagement of workers the activity and the outcomes it could improve is long overdue.
According to in-depth research conducted by the University of Virginia, understanding how one’s behavior affects the energy of others and gaining an ability to make decisions that modify one’s behavior in ways that promote energy, can have significant impact on employee well-being, productivity, and business performance.
While de-fusers can be valuable in minimizing conflict in the workplace, they hold a common attribute of being single-minded on task accomplishment. Infusers tend to accomplish as much or more and do so with an awareness of the people around them. Infusers see their work as a balance of tasks and relationships, and this becomes evident in the number of decisions and actions that demonstrate genuine care and concern for others throughout a given work day. These decisions and actions are unscripted and are often not lengthy encounters during the day, but serve as part of their foundational being.
How can you begin to create a foundation of energy? Consider the following questions regarding behaviors:
- When you are feeling buried in work, do you make time to engage with other people around you and not just converse as a means to an end? How relationships are weaved into the development of your day-to-day actions? When you make an effort to show concern for others and connect outside of work roles, you begin promoting an environment of trust.
- Do you follow through in doing what you say you were going to do? People become very energized by a task or goal if they believe in the integrity of the other person making the request or involved in the process. Once an infusion is made creating energy, people begin to let their guard down and give permission to feeling enthusiastic. This guard comes down only if people trust others to follow through.
- Do you allow political or dysfunctional behavior to enter into your decisions or actions? Do you address tough issues with integrity, authenticity and sincerity? Employees become infused when they stand in the presence of others who stand for something larger than themselves. When the pursuits are focused on doing the right things and not for exclusive gain, employees become energized.
Having concern for others and making connections in the workplace demonstrates a level of respect and brings dignity to the organization. Consistency in behavior builds trust in a work relationship and serves as the context for which energy can be created.
Will you make the decision to infuse today?
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©2010 All rights reserved. The Infusion Group™ LLC Judy White, SPHR, GPHR, HCS is the President of Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina based The Infusion Group ™ LLC (http://www.theinfusiongroupllc.com) and delights in partnering with individuals, leaders and organizations in connecting people with their business vision to what matters most.
