Putting Your Emotions to Work…

The Incredible Value of Emotions in the Workplace

In this issue: Putting Your Emotions to Work…/ How to Stay Cool When You’re Put on the Spot  / Plenty of sleep, healthy meals and exercise are part of your routine. What's missing? / The Lighter Side of Emotions

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I'm Andrea J. Miller and this is my “On Leading Well” Newsletter. I send this to people in my networks, people I’ve met recently, and friends I want to keep in touch with. You can unsubscribe (SEE THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE EMAIL) anytime, I won’t be offended

Putting Your Emotions to Work…The Incredible Value of Emotions in the Workplace

We are emotional creatures…

living, often unknowingly, at the mercy of our biology.

It impacts everything we do…and while frustrating at times, it can also reflect the best parts of who we are.

The importance of this dynamic was demonstrated in the mid-1980s by the renowned positive psychologist, Martin Seligman, in his work with Metlife to hire new salespeople.

Prior to Dr. Seligman’s arrival, the company had used a home-grown screening test to select the “best” people…the only problem was it wasn’t working.

Despite millions being spent to train and prepare this high aptitude group, they weren’t very good salespeople.

Enter Dr. Seligman, who came in and tweaked the process. He added a new dimension to the screening, he created an optimism test.

In the first year, those who passed both the optimism and aptitude tests outperformed those who only passed just the aptitude test (referred to as pessimists) by 8%, with that number increasing to 31% in the second year.

Based on his success, Seligman then convinced MetLife to hire what he referred to as "super-optimists" (as demonstrated, positive people can be quite convincing :) This group scored extremely high on the optimism test. but failed the aptitude test.

The data was rather incredible, the  “super-optimists” outsold the high aptitude pessimists by an impressive 21% in the first year and 57% in the second.

Even more impressive was the fact that the people who scored in the top 10 percent for optimism sold 88 percent more than those ranked in the most pessimistic 10 percent.

This shows that while our emotions can sometimes get the better of us, they can also get the better or best of others too.

An Unforgettable Meal

A strange thing happened at dinner the other week.

It was a place neither my friend nor I had ever been.

When the two smiling people came over, I had a feeling it would be a good evening.

They introduced themselves. Then our server, after learning it was our first time there, she launched into an explanation of the food with so much excitement and enthusiasm, you would’ve thought she owned the place.

This went on throughout the ordering process, from drinks to our main course selection.

Finally, having once been a rather enthusiastic server in a distant past life, I had to comment on it and compliment her.

That’s when we learned that she wasn’t, in fact, related to the owner… she just really loved working there!

She said the chef/owner was great, the other staff was great, and that she loved the mission (the owner tried to source from women-owned companies whenever possible).

Then, she and her friend/trainee said that this place was different, that typically servers weren’t treated very well, but this place was different.

In an industry where finding good people is difficult and even in the best of times turnover is high, they figured out what we all intuitively know, treat people well and they will treat you and your customers well, as well.

By creating an environment where the staff was not only happy, but fans, the owner created two new fans — we will definitely be going back! Which is how great businesses are made.

In contrast, at the place I went to the next night (it was a big weekend for me) the service was terrible. The server barely acknowledged us, the food was lukewarm, etc, etc.

My friend, who knew someone who’d worked there, said it wasn’t surprising since they don’t pay well and have a difficult time keeping staff.

While we might return for the music, we’d never go back for the food or service again.

Your people are your brand, and your brand is your business.

Whether you’re selling insurance like Metlife, food at a neighborhood restaurant, or something else, creating an environment that attracts and retains positive, optimistic people is a critical component to your success.

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The Lighter Side of Emotions

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RECOMMENDED LISTENS, READS And other interesting things

How to Stay Cool When You’re Put on the Spot

Work is full of difficult moments where people catch you off guard and make you feel defensive. It’s hard to predict when they’ll occur and how they’ll play out, but you can prepare for them. The author presents a four-step framework to give you an opportunity...

Plenty of sleep, healthy meals and exercise are part of your routine. What's missing?

On an instinctual level play is important for all of us. Incorporating joyful activity in your daily routine, even as an adult, is an essential part of thriving as a human, according to play expert and psychiatrist Dr. Stuart Brown.

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Are there any other subjects you want me to cover? Hit “Reply” and tell me!

I love hearing from you :)!

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Andrea J. Miller

+1 (646) 556-5401 (Whatsapp)