Let’s Fix Work Episode 96:
If you’ve been to a conference over the past decade, you’ve seen Simon T. Bailey up on stage motivating you to be brilliant and be your best. He is a Breakthrough Strategist whose life’s purpose is to teach 1 billion+ people how to be fearless and create their future.
By nature, I am a cynical woman. I’ve seen Simon speak and have listened to his message. When I do, I get a little bit more optimistic. He is truly one of the most inspirational speakers of our time. I am excited and honored to have him as my guest this week on the show.
In addition to presenting inspiring and powerful keynotes, Simon is the author of several books that encourage readers to live a brilliant life. His latest book, Be the Spark: Five Platinum Service Principles for Creating Customers for Life, walks readers through how to attract and retain customers in a growing global market as well as become the spark that creates change.
Today we talk about customer service, how to enjoy work, and how to love your life.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- Simon shares what it is like to be an inspirational speaker and how he finds inspiration when he is feeling uninspired.
- How to ensure we have a culture where men and women can be their best version of themselves.
- Why Spark is the new engagement.
- It shifts the way we view and achieve leadership.
- Not getting what you need from that socially inept leader? Simon shares some advice on how you can become the spark you need.
- Moving past the pervasiveness to get things out to the market right away and how to find passion, again.
- The power in rehearsing the future in the present.
- How to fall back in love with work, short of quitting.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THE SPARK?
Being a spark is how to work to create a culture where men and women can inspire, encourage, and motivate those around them.
HOW CAN LEADERS BECOME A LITTLE SAVVIER ABOUT SEEING THE HUNDREDS OF SPARKS WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATION?
First, it is important to note organizations recognize their number one customer are employees. Many organizations miss the mark on creating a spark. Here are a few ways leaders can begin to encourage the spark within the individuals in their organization:
- Work to understand the learning style of every person on their team. Are they visual, auditory, or hands-on? Once they figure this out, communicate to each individual in their preferred learning style.
- Seek to understand each person’s personal vision for their life. Where do they want to go and how do you come along?
- Most important, leaders should tell team members what they are doing right instead of what they’re doing wrong. This goes beyond the annual review or mid-year review. It’s telling them weekly or at least monthly. As you can see, the key is realizing that spark is the new engagement. Seek out opportunities to truly connect, engage, understand, and celebrate your organization.
HOW CAN I FALL BACK IN LOVE WITH WORK?
Here is some sound advice from Breakthrough Strategist Simon T. Bailey:
- “The first thing is to go back to Day One when you first signed up for this place of business. You showed up. Your eyes were bright. You were engaged. You’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is gonna be awesome.’ Then you settled into the routine. What if Day One became every day before you get to work? Relive Day One.”
- “Number two. How do you carve out time, perhaps 15 minutes a day where you will go and you just breathe? Think about what is working instead of what isn’t working. And this little shift in energy around what is working allows you to begin to see the impossible and begin to see you can do something better. Opt into becoming the change you want to be in the world and the change you want to have at work.”
- “The third thing is, ‘How will you pay it forward?’ Find one of your colleagues or peers who did something right that perhaps the boss or leader didn’t notice, but you did. Point it out. Give them a shout out because sometimes you’d have to give away what you want in your life. So, pay it forward by putting a smile on somebody else’s face.”
Resources from this episode:
Be the Spark
Release Your Brilliance
Shift Your Brilliance
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