Input....What Makes you Tick?

I've been deluging you with some of my thoughts for a few weeks now....it's time to see who is paying attention and who is willing to contribute. See the little area at the end of this blog called "comments"....here is your chance to speak up.

My questions for are : 1) What do you think is the biggest motivating factor for most people in the work place today? and 2) What is YOUR number one motivating factor...the one that motivates you the most? (they could be different). You are welcome to choose the anonymous reply button too....just looking for some thoughts.

I'll allow a few days for the comments to be added and then I'll blog about motivation, my thoughts and even a few "outsider" thoughts on the subject. Even thoughts as extreme as, "the workplace shouldn't have to care what motivates you, that's your problem...."

TAFN

Challenge Yourself to Grow...

It’s no secret that our Director has encouraged employees to participate in Professional Organizations, especially those that are somehow related to Conservation. As IT employees what has that meant to you? Let’s take a little quiz… How many of you currently belong to a Fish, Forest, Wildlife Professional Organization? Unfair? …cause we don’t work in a resource job…? If you believe that…then I need to open the bus doors for you. OK, let’s change the question then for you: How many of you belong to a professional IT organization? Hmmm not many hands there either…. Why not?

What do those organizations have to do with you and your job you say? Well, I’d offer that those groups offer OPPORTUNITY… the opportunity for growth, to challenge, to stretch you and your thoughts. Not to mention they provide an avenue for you to learn and to help further exposure to Conservation and the work we do. The more folks you know, the more chances you have to learn and espouse the good of Conservation. I’ll bet there are a good number of you who belong to PTO groups, hobby related clubs, women’s/men’s type clubs, etc…obviously you saw the value there to “enlist.” So what’s different about work or your desire to participate in groups that are related to it?

I’ve heard it stated publicly, that “if I’m supposed to be in a Conservation type organization, then it should be on the Dept. time and dime…” Sends a pretty clear message to me about the quality of Professional making that statement. Which camp are you in? Do you see the value in participating in Resource and IT related organizations? Do you see that you can add something to those groups and perhaps even glean some information that may be of value in the workplace too? I’d challenge each of you to give this some serious thought and see if there isn’t some group out there that would add value to what you do here at work ….and at home.

TAFN

....Mission Statement...?

I read this on a web site (corporate technologies/Careers) that spoke to how they feel about hiring IT staffers: "People are our most important asset. We invest in this resource by encouraging and rewarding superior expertise, professional development, and thorough training. And we provide all employees equal opportunity for advancement and personal achievement.
We attract the best and the brightest IT, sales, support, and general business people to help our clients tap the power of technology to drive their business success. And we provide a collaborative climate that encourages professional growth. Engineers, for example, even though they may concentrate their work in one area, receive cross training in others. And their assignments are balanced between doing product research and testing, implementation, and initial assessments at clients.
We encourage our employees to become an instrumental part of a dynamic team of smart, innovative, highly motivated professionals working in a highly collaborative, consultative environment and helping clients meet their toughest IT challenges."

I thought WOW, what a place to work! Then I thought-- with a little effort our "sales" pitch here might read something like this.... People are our most important asset. We invest in this indispensable resource by encouraging and rewarding superior expertise, professional development, and thorough training. We provide all employees equal opportunity for advancement and personal achievement. We attract the best and the brightest IT people to help our Agency tap the power of technology to drive Conservation success. We provide a collaborative climate that encourages professional growth. We encourage our employees to become an instrumental part of a dynamic team of smart, innovative, highly motivated professionals working in a highly collaborative, consultative environment and helping Conservation Employees meet their toughest IT challenges.

Sounds nice...but I think we might be missing a couple of things to make this a reality... 1) Realism --about who and WHAT we really are TODAY and; 2) all the pieces to make such a statement an honest reflection.

A statement like the above is a two way street...the company AND the employees. One side cannot make the statement true without the other doing their part. While the "company" can provide opportunities, etc...the employees must be dedicated, professionals also. One is not true without the other.

Are we there yet? No, I don't think so, but we could be...and I WANT to be. I'm planning to do what I can to see it happen.....are you? ....see any ties to the "Good to Great"...?

TAFN