Do The Happiest People Really Have The Hardest Jobs?

“Do The Happiest People
Really Have The Hardest
Jobs?”
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PRESENTS
© 2013 The Mudd Partnership | www.themuddpartnership.com | @muddpartnership | www.fb.com/muddpartnership

Rosabeth Moss Kanter recently wrote in the Harvard Business Review about why
she thought that the happiest people appear to have some of the hardest jobs.
Whilst Money acted as a benchmark, above a certain threshold – variously
estimated to be between £40,000 & £60,000 PA – the cash to happiness
correlation leveled itself out and didn‟t exercise any greater inducement to
engage. In short, it wasn‟t by itself enough to, “Get people up-&-at „em for their
daily work”!
Of course, in positive psychology terms doing emotionally fulfilling work is a key to
enduring happiness, but not all work, or indeed all jobs, offer this opportunity to
fulfill.
Engagement is a strong predictor of success whether it be in the work place or in
almost any other area of your life, &, the level at which you engage can be a
clear predictor of how happy and positive you are. First & foremost, engaged
people pursue Mastery, Membership & all importantly, Meaning with Money
being a distant fourth.
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Membership can be translated as Affiliation & both Meaning & Mastery are
as Peter Senge describes in “The Fifth Discipline”, the need to clarify what is
important to us and see the current reality more clearly (Meaning), &, continuing
to expand and develop your ability to achieve the results you want (Mastery).
In the work place we need to be mindful of cultivating a Mastery of our
skills, developing a sense of Affiliation with others, &, being Aristotle’s active
seekers after meaning; which means not just focusing on our immediate
tasks, but also on how we can make a difference by thinking ahead & being
a Thinking Performer.
We are going to talk more about the Thinking Performer and how they can play
a vital role in developing Super Performing Organisations and Businesses in
future Blogs, but at The Mudd Partnership we also think that employees need
to have these three key qualities in particular: Attunement, Buoyancy & Clarity?
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In Daniel H Pink’s new book, „To Sell Is Human‟ he describes these three qualities
like so:
Attunement: A Highly Evolved Empathy;
Buoyancy: Bob The Builder‟s Perkiness! In recent Blogs & newsletters on „Building
Resilience‟ we have described, „To be buoyant‟ as an ability to recover quickly
from change or misfortune & to recover ones shape and form; &
Clarity: This could of course be Meaning in another guise, although in this
instance Daniel H Pink describes it as, „Solving a problem nobody knew existed‟!
Another „A‟ we‟d like to add to this list though is Astuteness, as it‟s also this quality
coupled with Networking Skills and Sincerity which will really help you survive
Office Politics & Thrive in the workplace: And OK, it messes with the Mnemonic
but The Mudd Partnership believes that Astuteness is also rather important!
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You‟d think then that anyone in possession of these traits would be pretty much in
command of their feelings and ultimately accepting of the principle that if you
don‟t feel it, „In the Here & Now, then Act It and the feeling will follow‟! In a way
yes, but it‟s all about letting go, just a little, & that‟s sometimes very
scary, particularly if you don‟t feel you have permission!
It will also come as no surprise that the latest research by the Institute of
Leadership & Management (ILM) has found that Happiness & High Performance
are linked & „High Performance‟ as regular followers of The Mudd Partnership
Blogs, newsletters and visitors to our Website will know, is central to all we are
trying to a achieve through our work whether that is with
Individuals, Teams, Organisations or Businesses.
We understand of course that the Global Recession has undoubtedly introduced
huge and unprecedented challenges for Organisations and
Businesses, &, the „Happiness Factor‟ (ergo Positivity) may well get squeezed out
by the overwhelming stresses and pressures to
React, Adapt, Respond, Absorb, Reposition and Survive! Positivity however, is
recognised as a Key Driver of employee motivation and engagement, which in
turn create the traction that can drive organisational performance, innovation
and productivity.
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The Challenge then is for those in positions of Leadership, or Management to
understand the connection and pay-off between Positivity & Performance and
do all they can to make it a reality, or they may find they have an Organisation
or Business characterised by the following as described by Rosabeth Moss
Kanter: Decreased Communication; Increased Criticism & Blame; Decreased
Respect; Increased Isolation; Decreased Initiative; An increasingly Inward Focus;
Diminished Aspirations; Spreading Negativity; & ultimately widening Rifts, growing
Inequities, Dysfunction and Breakdown!
So, what can we All do to counter the cynicism, the negativity, the lack of
motivation, engagement, &, under performance in the workplace? The Mudd
Partnership has a few things to suggest all drawn from our work in support
of “High Performing Teams‟, „Individual Excellence‟, „Building
Resilience‟ & „Enhancing Performance‟!
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1. Firstly, Become More Emotionally Aware:
Regular followers will know that we have Blogged before about Daniel
Goleman and his groundbreaking work on Emotional Intelligence in the mid
1990‟s; E.I. plays an important part in contributing to and sustaining a „Thriving
Organisation or Business‟ & is pre-figured by character traits such
as Astuteness, Attunement, Buoyancy & being Clear; Whilst such acts as
providing regular feedback on performance and assessment versus goals in the
workplace enables employees to have more Clarity about where they stand and
what they need to do (both more of, & less of);
2. Secondly, Create A Listening & Learning Culture:
If people believe their views are being heard and their thinking & ideas
encouraged then this in turn will reinforce positive feelings; & as Peter
Senge propounded, „Continual Learning‟; Also require the privileged to Mentor &
help others and provide opportunities for continual learning and growth;
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3. Thirdly, Model Behaviours
If you want Happy, Act Happy! Happier managers according to recent research
by the ILM, consistently perform to a higher standard and if they think their
Reports are also happy then there is a double bounce; Also don‟t forget to
reward initiative, reduce inequities & status differences and make Brainstorming a
Habit.
4. Fourth, Delegate Decision Making
A manager who is Tough but fair is trusted by their Team, &, Trust is pivotal in the
Psychological Contract which will underpin Positivity; So, wherever possible look
for and act upon opportunities to build Trust by providing Direct Reports with a
degree of Autonomy; Involve diverse cross-cutting teams in problem solving and
nurture a culture of respect for talent and achievements, innovation and
learning, without blame or censure;
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5. Celebrate Success
Communicate robustly and focus on the „Good News‟; Raise aspirations by using
and publicising „Small Wins‟; Focus on Communicating Inspiring Goals which are
larger than any Individual or Team and find a Grand Challenge to unite
everybody & create a common purpose; Ensure information is shared across the
whole organisation and that everyone is in the loop; & Finally
6. Spread Training & Development
Spread extra resources where you can & cast the net widely as most
employees, &, at all levels, are motivated to seek opportunities to learn and
develop, together with demonstrating their skills and capabilities; So don‟t restrict
opportunities to certain groups or levels within the Organisation or Business and
look to foster Clarity, Commitment, Emotional Intelligence & Stamina.
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As Anton Chekov wrote in, The Seagull‟, “The great thing is simply Stamina”!
To find out more about our work with High Performing Teams &
developing Individual Excellence to drive forward Super Performing Organisations
& Businesses Contact us through the Website, by Email, or LinkedIn & let us make a
Compelling Case for working with You!
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Website : www.themuddpartnership.com
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Do The Happiest People Really Have The Hardest Jobs?

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