Have you ever shopped at a store and when it was time to be served it was as if the employee was angry at you for making them do their job… or aggravated they had to stop their conversation with their coworker to assist you? Or, my favorite… the no eye contact, no smile, no greeting, their employer must have dragged them to work at gunpoint to help you type of service? It always leaves me wondering, how did this person get the job? Who else was interviewing? Why was this person the best option? And, what’s the plan to improve and upgrade the hiring process, the training process, and standards?
As an organization, pickings may be slim regarding the number of employees who want to work, want to work for you, and bodies are sometimes hired to keep everything afloat to satisfy massive growth; but please remember… who you bring in + what you expect + what you tolerate = your culture! These negative experiences, mixed with the wonderful employee experiences I’ve encountered, made it simple for me to know the 3 BIG P’s I was looking for when I started bringing people into my business years ago. So, what are they?
Positive!
Anyone I hired in the past, outsource with now, or partner with must be Positive! I define positive as having their head up, eyes up, smiling, upbeat, creative, willing to learn, they possess initiative, and in general when they walk into a room… the room is uplifted and people are better for having them around. As a leader, it’s important to understand everyone will have their bad day… even you… due to organizational issues, personal issues, sometimes customer/client issues. Leaders bounce back quicker and better than everyone else and that’s the positivity you’re looking for!
I once worked in a very demanding facility where the work was tough, but very rewarding. I was a Mental Health Therapist, and I took pride in our building and the culture we created… too bad our leadership didn’t. When employees of the company who worked outside of our building did a bad job, who were the opposite of “Positive”, or simply burnt-out they weren’t let go or mandated to attend proper trainings… they were relocated to our building to either burn-out further and quit or disappear into the abyss. Can you believe that? Needless to say, these individuals, although good people, were not positive and not happy about the move to the “Dreaded Place”, and it showed as they looked miserable interacting with our clients, led nothing, and exacerbated many volatile situations, making it harder for everyone else!
Bringing in Positive people is key; as they will be the face of your organization, your leadership, and a model for your clients and customers as well. I love getting to speak and train around the world and even when attendees in the crowd have masks on (due to Covid protocols), I can still tell the “Positive” people by their eyes… it’s a truly amazing thing. Inherently, these Positive people sometimes approach me afterward and ask if they can have a job within my company. It’s an overwhelming honor and I wish I could hire them all; instead I may provide them coaching and/or connect them with companies I know are Positive and would allow them the opportunity, culture, and growth they’re seeking! Remember, Positivity is great… however one “P” without the other two doesn’t work!
Passionate!
Positivity can take you far, while Passion + Positivity is like hitting the Nitro Button! I laugh as I write this because I know nothing about cars. However, I do know when I’m at the arcade with my kids and we play the car racing game and I hit that Nitro Button… ZOOOOOM… off I go! Passionate means, not only are your people positive, they also care about the work they’re doing… they believe in it at their core or at the least, the good it will do for the organization, client/customer, and the world!
When I hired my Virtual Assistant, I had the privilege of interviewing three candidates. They were all wonderful and I asked my 7 Leader’s Interview Questions to them individually. When it came down to the questions, “What’s your Dream?”, “What do you like most about the job?”, and “What do you like least about your job?” one person stood out above the rest! Two candidates had other professional aspirations and wanted, or needed, a job and there’s nothing wrong with that… I’ve been there. However, one candidate stated… with the passion… she loved helping people see their dreams come true and enjoyed being a part of the journey! She also shared her dreams of running her own business and that the worst part of her job was not knowing what was expected of her because she wanted to be great at what she did and that’s not possible without great leadership. I‘d like to thank the world’s best Virtual Assistant, Nichole, for all of the behind-the-scenes stuff it takes to run a business and literally getting me to where I need to be around the globe, helping me to lead, being positive, passionate, and the final P…
Productive!
Being Positive and Passionate without being Productive will not work! At the end of the day, business and leadership is about results! Can you… and will you… do what you said you were going to do and beyond? My job is to over-deliver! Most organizations have hesitations about bringing in a “so-called” Professional Speaker or Leadership Trainer… as would I. Unless you know them or they’re a huge name like Tony Robbins, you have no idea what you’re getting. Productive means you get the job done, you follow through, people and the organization can trust you, and you’ve made your name synonymous with your craft!
However, beware… Productive isn’t meant to stand alone. I’m sure you’ve worked with an individual that was productive, but they weren’t Positive… I have! For example, their sales numbers are through the roof; however they cheated their coworkers, stole clients, bullied customers/clients, etc. Terrell Owens, former NFL superstar wide receiver, may be the best example of this. He was ultra-productive everywhere he went, was one of the best wide receivers of all time… and is struggling to get into the NFL Football Hall-of-Fame because he was Productive and Passionate… but wasn’t Positive. He broke apart locker rooms, teams, and became an intentional distraction… making everything all about him everywhere he went until team after team decided Production wasn’t enough and it’d be best for him to take his singular “P” of Production elsewhere!
As a leader, are you being Positive, Passionate, and Productive? Not only in the ways you want to be; but also marrying it with the ways your people, team, and organization need most from you right now? As a Front-Line Employee, are you being Positive, Passionate, and Productive? Not only in the ways you want to be; but marrying it with the ways your leaders, team, and organization need most from you right now? It’s not only about doing and being The 3 P’s when you start, or when you’re motivated on a Monday, on January 1st as a New Year’s Resolution, or when things are going your way… this is an ongoing expectation and the specific exception within my Leader’s 3 of having a Vision & Vision Factors, Expectations, and Rules… we’ll get into this more in Chapter 5. Model the P’s as a leader, Expect the P’s from your people, and Enjoy you’re your professional and personal evolution!!!
“Who you bring in + What you expect + What you tolerate = your culture… Be Mindful!”
– Andre Young
Written By: Andre Young
