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[T151]Ten Steps To Advanced Reading

by Andrew Cox, And

Empowering people can take many forms. In most organizations, there are many actions that can be taken, without financial risk to the organization, to start empowering people.

From the biggest for - profit corporation to the smallest non - profit, there are empowering behaviors that can add tremendous amounts of energy and leverage.

Here are ten behavior driven actions to take to empower people.

1 - Create the opportunity for trust. Trust comes from results. Results come from a combination of opportunities and actions. That climate can be established at every level. The quicker trustworthy people are identified, the better. Same goes for the untrustworthy.

2 - Provide recognition for contribution. Many managers rationalize not doing this by saying the person was just doing their job. Question: Since when is delivering a product, error free, on time and to a customer spec just " doing their job?" Or giving up a weekend and a family picnic to recover a schedule? Or working double shifts to correct an error on a time sensitive assembly for a customer? Or flying to a jobsite in a foreign country with 4 hours notice to deal with an angry customer? Recognition for a job well done is empowering at every level.

3 - Minimize the rules. Structure is important, no doubt about it. But in most organizations, the rules are either not clear, ignored or out of date. Procedures provide guidance - and discretion - and they empower people by providing a pathway to accomplishment. Why waste time and opportunity constantly reinventing the how - do - we - do - this wheel?

4 - Develop meaningful goals and involve the people who can contribute to the process. This can be messy - it's so much easier to just write down what is to be done. But involvement empowers people, and provides so much valuable input to setting goals. And in most cases, the goals will be more aggressive than if the boss had just written them down. Empowered people work harder and smarter.

5 - Recognize results. This is different than recognizing contribution, but just as valuable. When a goal is met, empower the people involved to go out and do more by recognizing the goal accomplishment.

6 - Develop boundaries for action that allow for some risk. Risk averse organizations don't like to hear that "some level of risk" talk, and for good reason. No one wants to be bagged and tagged by a rogue bond trader, an unethical lawyer, an dishonest accountant, an overly aggressive sales person. But creating boundaries based on the worst possible scenario so limits individual initiative that empowerment can't survive, let alone flourish.

7 - Use opportunity as a reward for accomplishment. This should be done anyway, but it's amazing how many organizations and people don't view opportunity as a reward, but as a jeopardy. Pessimists have their place in every organization - they provide valuable control points and healthy skepticism. But the future belongs to the optimists - the seekers of opportunity.

8 - Ask people what they think. And then listen to their responses. I've written before about the most feared words in business - " What do you think?" To the command and control managers, those words sound like they're giving up their God given right to lead. The truth is those words empower their opportunity to lead. And they empower their people. If the managers can't see that, it's time for a change.

9 - Don't let the bums wear you down. How often have people's sharp edges been described as " just needing a little rounding off'"? But too much rounding off results in a blunt instrument. Every manager and leader has had multiple experiences within their" universe" of people that has the potential to reduce their own effectiveness - to make them a blunt instrument. Poor managers, bad or non existent role models and mentors, dishonest and double dealing peers, bad situations - all have the potential to wear a person down. That's why having positive and optimistic ideals and expectations are so important and empowering. They guard against letting the inevitable negative incidents become the driver of behavior.

10 - Seek out and encourage differences. There is no learning without conflict. Empowerment comes from differing points of view - and respect for those points of view. It's often tempting to brush off the dissenting opinion or observation or suggestion, but providing the opportunity for inclusion of differences results in more empowerment - and more effective decision making.

Inventory your own behavior against these ten steps. Then act to implement the steps that make sense for your situation and the situation of the people around you. Increased empowerment will be the product of those actions.

Enthusiasm is the highest level of life energy we can experience as human beings here on earth. Some may say ecstasy is even higher still, but others might counter that ecstasy is not readily available to every mortal on this planet, while enthusiasm can be felt by anyone who discovers his passion, his reason of being, his mission on earth.

Enthusiasm will be felt by anyone who lives, or aspires to live, according to his divine plan.
Enthusiasm means you are possessed by a divine spirit, taking you higher and higher, and continually drawing you closer to the realization of yourself as the divine creature that you are. The realization of yourself entails the realization of your dreams.

First you need to identify your passion and your mission, and then you need to get serious about implementing them in your life. Soon you will be carried aloft by a divine wind, plenty of energy will flow through your being, and you will feel blessed with extraordinary creativity and inspiration, lifting you up to heavenly vibrations.

How do you embark on this journey of enthusiasm, cruising the earthly waters? How can you maintain your balance and prevent falling into the cold waters of depression, emptiness and lack of energy? Follow the steps set out below and join the planetary crew of enthusiasts!

1)Find your passion, your goal in life, the reason why you are alive. This passion should not be linked to one particular person, otherwise you will fall into the water whenever this other person goes away. Your passion is something personal, something inside yourself. Your passion does not depend on anything outside yourself (your lover, your children or your job) to guarantee your happiness! Discover your own unique talents, develop them and offer them to the world. What is it that you are passionate about? What are the activities that boost your energy? What makes you lose track of time? What is it that absorbs your mind so much that you forget about dinner? This is what excites you, and that feeling of excitement is your soul raising its hand, shouting : This way, please! Listen to your soul : follow your excitement.

2)Free yourself of energy vampires, so you can use all of your precious energy to expand and progress. As long as you let yourself be terrorized by your partner, boss, parents, colleagues or children, you will not get very far with your energy. You are merely trying to survive, and survival has nothing to do with enthusiasm! Break with people who are dragging you down and start living it up!

3)Learn to say no to time-consuming, futile activities like arguing with your partner or children, taking care of people who do not want to change their ways anyway, going shopping and preparing warm meals for people who do bot appreciate your efforts, answering phone calls for people that talk down to you, and so on. Pay attention to what activities you spend your time and energy on, separate the wheat from the chaff and break radically with everything that eats up your precious time without offering something in return!

4)Stop trying to save the whole world, but rather start by saving yourself. Is this being egotistic? No, this is called self-love. Stop trying to solve problems of others, but rather concentrate on your own goal and keep moving forward! It is not until you are receiving a lot of energy from your own exciting activities, that you will have a lot to offer to others. Your mere example of living your passion is much more effective towards producing change than endlessly proposing solutions to people who got so stuck in their problems that they do not want to resolve them anyway. You are not responsible for them! But you are responsible for yourself!

5)Stay focused on your goal, on your well-being, on your happiness. Fulfilling your dream is your priority and your guideline for every decision you make. Do not waste time on unimportant details. You do not have to know everything before you can get started, and you do not have to resolve everything before you can move on. You do not have to take your children to the gym everyday yourself; teach them how to take the bus, or set up a schedule to work in shifts with other parents.

6)Find your balance: eat good food, maintain positive energy vibrations, listen to music you enjoy, spend time in nature.Take care of yourself. Nourish yourself with high quality food on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual! Every object, every thought, every environment, every person has a certain energy level. You can easily sense this. Learn how to feel the energy moving in your body. Learn how to feel this energy and stay away from people, places or activities that drain your energy. Instead, look for those things that boost your energy up and integrate them into your daily life. Be sensitive for and pay attention to what your body is telling you, and then act accordingly.

7)Be positive. Do not listen to naysayers, naggers, or depressed people. Look on the bright side of life! Hang out with positive people. Read inspiring books. Go for a daily stroll in the park or a walk through the forest. Breath. Fill your body and mind with pure oxygen. Listen to something that motivates you instead of exposing yourself to the endless stream of very-low-energy newscasts telling you how many people got killed today. Put a screensaver on your computer displaying motivational quotes to remind you that it is YOU who is creating your own life from your own mindset! Write motivational texts on flashcards and stick them on your dashboard, computer, doors, fridge, bed, table, everywhere!

8)Love, love, love, and then love some more! Love your children, your cat, your dog, your mother and father, your mother-in-law (if possible, just kidding), your garden, your nose, your belly, your street, your neighbors, your house, your town, your everything! Love is the highest energy vibration we can feel. Do not wait around for love to come into your life! Make love happen yourself! Be the love that you are looking for. Love, and you will be loved!

9)Be grateful. Stop complaining about what you do not have. Stop focusing on what is lacking in your life. Instead focus on what you do have. Be grateful and say thank you to those around you. Say thank you to the Universe. Look at what you already have right now: what do you already possess, who already loves you, what skills do you have already? Express gratitude for these, and more of it will come to you. Focusing on something makes it bigger, because you are feeding it with energy. So focus on what you want and do not focus on what you do not want. The best way to receive more of what you want, is to be sincerely grateful for what you have already.

10) Give. Be a giver, not a taker. Give freely and generously of your love, your talents, your energy, your knowledge, your charisma, your time to those with whom you have a good energy connection. Using your talents to make this world a better place is the most satisfying activity there is. By offering your talents to others, you are aligning yourself with your divine life plan and you will be filled with enthusiasm! You will notice that people are happier, more on track, more confident, stronger and healthier after receiving the gift of your talents and support, and this will make you feel so happy and light that you will feel afloat! And this is because your energy vibrations are so high that you are touching divinity! You are floating like an angel! However, be careful when you are giving your energy to energy vampires! You do not have to let yourself bleed for the sake of people who drain you without giving anything in return. Always check to see if the energy is being shared, if it is flowing in both directions. If not, then stop.

Practicing these 10 steps in daily life will make your enthusiasm skyrocket! You will feel heavenly and afloat, just like those other heavenly creatures, the angels. Stay on your life path, doing what you were meant to do: realizing your dreams by offering your unique talents to those other angels who cross your path. Your reward: electrifying enthusiasm!

Article Source : Employee Empowerment

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Both Andrew Cox & Ineke Van Lint are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Andrew Cox has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Travel and Leisure and Politics. Andy Cox helps his clients select and develop teams and talent. He focuses on helping leaders and emerging leaders define and develop their skills and talents using goals. He can be reached at. Andrew Cox's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.

Ineke Van Lint has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dating and Romance, Modelling and Self Improvement and Motivation. Ineke Van Lint, psychologist, is an expert in boosting your enthusiasm. She guides you to your passion, your mission on earth and she shows you how to live according your divine plan. Live your life your way, full of joy, abundance and enthusiasm! Free e-. Ineke Van Lint's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.