Steve Roesler has been doing a wonderful series on change over at his blogpost All Things Workplace. The most recent one Change: Does your Spirit Lift You and Others Up? hits on something that appears to still remain relatively dormant - the acceptance of the human spirit as THE fuel driving performance, results, retention, engagement ... you name it. Previous blogposts on this site include Spirit as Energy and Personal Spirit: The Fuel. Personal spirit is measured (to the extent one can measure energy) as outlook on life, sense of control (not over others) and initiative. These serve as the filter for perception and impact.
Yet oddly, at least to me, when I am discussing the need for workers who have been downsized, rightsized and minimized, to reconnect with their hope, their talent and themselves, eyes glaze over. Talk goes back to the resources for job search, the inability of the workplace to see the value of older workers, known as Prime 50 by Drake International or the inability of the older workers to fit in. All these are negatives as you have undoubtedly noted. Fitting a square peg into a round hole is tough when the only shape recognized is square. OK, perhaps a poor metaphor but the point is that unless the hope, the inner strength and the belief that one has worth is there, zillions of job searches won't clear the self-doubt, or sense of powerlessness.
Reingiting the fuel the inspires personal contribution is a start. The support comes from a working environment that knows how to merge the differences in perspective between individuals and generations into something more powerful. That requires compassion. We don't act on what we think. We act on how we feel.
How is this connection between personal spirit and results, whether personal or professional regarded in your experience?
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