Barely one crisis ends when another begins, and it is not uncommon to feel a sense of overload and even helplessness. But, there are a variety of small ways you can have an impact on the circumstances that surround you at work, creating positive opportunities, changing old habits and learning to link your actions to a vision that is commonly shared whenever possible. Here are some recent examples I've seen in companies of small things that can make a difference at work. Creating positive opportunities. It doesn't take a major effort to come up with ways to thank and validate each other's efforts at work.
Any manager can give a token to any employee they catch doing a great job.
Changing old ways. At a General Electric lightning arrester plant located in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, teams consist of employees from all parts of the plant, enabling representatives from all affected departments to discuss how suggested changes or improvements would affect their part of the operation. A year after startup, the plant's employees measured 20 percent higher in productivity than their closest counterpart in the mainland United States. Linking along the way. At American Express in Phoenix, they teach managers to explicitly make the connection with employees between what the manager is doing and why he or she is doing it.