6 Attitudes For Winning At Work

You’ve probably got some great employees and wonderful coworkers on your team. They’re hard working, dedicated, and loyal. They’ve got winner written all over them. But you also know some people who don’t have a lot of drive and they don’t take a lot of initiative. They just put in their time.

And some of them even joke about it. They refer to their work as nothing more than, “another day, another dollar.”

Others will say, “I’ve just got 7 more years, 3 months, and 2 days and I’m out of here.” They’ve got loser written all over them.

There are literally thousands of people who read and take the effort to learn, so that they can keep improving themselves. Many of them are winners, want to be winners, or are in the process of becoming winners.

It doesn’t matter which of those categories you fall into, but if you want to ensure your place among the winners, there are six little strategies you can use:

1. Regard WORK AS A PRIVILEGE, not a problem

It’s like the manager who asked his new secretary, “Why don’t you ever answer the telephone?” She said, “Why should I? Nine times out of ten it’s for you!” Employees who see work as more of a problem than a privilege tend to be complainers. And complainers can almost always find something to complain about.

For example, a condemned spy was led out at dawn to be shot. The rain was fierce, and the wind was bitter.

The spy turned bitterly to one of the guards and said, “What beasts you are to march me out to be shot in the rain like this.” One guard replied with equal bitterness, “What are you complaining about? We’ve got to march back.”

Complainers not only kill off their own performance, but yours as well… if you don’t know how to keep their negativity at bay. They’re dangerous to be around and they’re expensive to keep on the payroll.

When you hear someone complaining about their job, say to them, “If you don’t like employment, try unemployment. There are literally millions of people who would be overjoyed to have your job.”

2. Recognise the high COST of NOT BEING COMMITTED

Losers fail to realise that they’re paying a huge personal cost for not being fully committed to their work. They may even think they’re getting away with something by doing just enough to
get by.

The truth is losers pay a very high price! They pay through lowered self-esteem, they couldn’t possibly feel good about themselves by doing the bare minimum.

They may feel clever or sneaky, but that’s a great deal different than having a deep respect for one’s self.

It’s a tough, competitive world out there. In fact, it’s tougher than it’s been in a long time. So the handwriting is on the wall; if you’re doing just enough to get by, get ready for a wake-up call. You had better get fired up, or you may get fired.

3. Winners focus on how they can do MORE than is expected

Whether it’s dazzling a customer with better service than they’ve ever experienced before or surprising a coworker by offering help, winners focus on how they can do more, not less. One of the hardest problems a person faces each day comes at about 5:00pm, when they have to decide if they’re tired or lazy.

4. Winners DECIDE to enjoy their work, no matter what

Certainly, no job is perfect. There’s always room for improvement. So there’s always something you could complain about. In spite of that, winners decide they’re going to like their work. It’s a decision they make not a feeling they have.

As a great publisher, Katherine Graham once said, “To love what you do and feel that it matters how could anything be more fun?”

And enjoying your work always improves the quality of your work. Aristotle said, “Pleasure on the job puts perfection in the work.” So it’s no wonder that winners are performers as well as quality-improvers.

Your job may not be fun. It may not even be meaningful. But if you’re going to be a winner, you must decide to enjoy your work, no matter what.

5. Winners know HARD WORK IS GOOD for the soul

Most people know it’s good for the company. It’s good for the customer. It’s even good for the country, but only the winners know it’s also good for
the soul.

Author Rabbi Harold Kushner, of several bestselling books, said it so well. He asserted, “Work hard, not solely because it will bring you rewards and promotions, but because it will give you a sense of being a competent person.

Something corrosive happens to the souls of people who stop caring about the quality of their work and they begin to go through the motions.”

6. Winners see the GOOD IN EVERY SITUATION

It’s one of their secrets. Somehow or other, they know it keeps them positive and productive.

Winners see the good in every situation. And no, they’re not naive. Like anyone else they can see what’s wrong with a situation, but winners don’t get stuck on that point. Winners see the good in any situation and focus on how they could make it even better.

Of course, such positive thinking will annoy the losers in most companies. They’ll see the winners as blind and they’ll be disgusted with those winners who aren’t wallowing in the negativity with them. So be it.

At the end of the day, the winners still win and losers still lose.

By Dr. Alan Zimmerman

Published with permission from the International Institute of Directors and Managers (IIDM) – www.iidmglobal.com

Proteus Leadership is one of Australia’s premier leadership training and development companies. Proteus Leadership provides leadership courses and management training to a range of industries and assists organisations to build positive workplace cultures, implement change and Create Great Leaders. Proteus also facilitates a range of world-class management courses, workshops, conferences and events across Australia and beyond with the sole purpose of bringing leaders together to connect and grow.

“Our core purpose is to Create Great Leaders that will in turn build Great companies and develop Great teams.”