Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm – Winston Churchill
This past February, Oral Health was invited to Henry Schein’s National Sales Meeting at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario – and it did not disappoint.
On the opening night, the hockey themed event kicked off with more team spirit than I have experienced in a very long time. I’m talking about a room full of 250 enthusiastic employees, raising their #TeamSchein foam fingers in the air, ready and excited for three full days of learning and growth. The eagerness that expelled from each and every employee of Henry Schein Canada was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. And even just as a guest of the event, I left feeling truly inspired.
This got me thinking about the importance of enthusiasm in the workplace.
A simple meaning for the word enthusiasm is to have a keen interest. It means you demonstrate an eagerness and a joy that fills you with energy. Now, imagine employees applying this type of energy to the workplace. Employee satisfaction might be the most important measure of any company’s success, and an extremely important factor in increasing your practice’s customer satisfaction.
Enthusiasm is a powerful motivator when it’s sincere. It’s a spirit that inspires us to move forward positively in a direction of our own choosing. Consider the benefits of being enthusiastic: more productive, more confident, others will view you in a more positive light, and lastly, you’ll experience more peace of mind at the end of each day. That being said, we’ve all experienced the difficulty of staying motivated and enthusiastic at work. So, how can you encourage this eagerness in your practice?
It’s all about engagement. Taking steps to help re-energize and re-engage your employees is essential. Listen to your employees, applaud their efforts, and communicate with them on a regular basis. There is nothing more motivating than being recognized for your hard work and knowing that your accomplishments are vital to the success of the company. Employees want to feel valued and know that their contributions make a difference. Also, keep in mind that everyday tasks would become easier and more enjoyable when done with enthusiasm. If your employees were to apply this mind-set to your practice, they might find themselves eager to successfully finish the task and not just their 9 to 5 work day.
Remember, enthusiasm is contagious. When you work with enthusiastic people, it’s hard not to be enthusiastic yourself. As a leader, and a boss, you should exude as much enthusiasm as you can each day to motivate your staff. My advice: stay caffeinated.
