Build Bridges Not Walls - Employee Recognition
As a leader, you want to show employees that their contributions are valued and appreciated. Unfortunately, many companies are still stuck in the mindset of traditional recognition systems like awards or certificates. While these types of rewards can be appropriate at times, there's a better alternative that will not just build bridges between your team but help drive performance too: Recognizing your employees' efforts with badges.
Check out this article for more info on why badges have been scientifically proven to improve employee engagement as well as career goals and retention rates! This could be what turns your business around!
It's time to learn something new...
A few years ago, I wrote a post that was based on a new idea that I had come across. It was called the "Theory of Everything" and it was basically my take on things that I had read in various self help books, as well as my personal experiences. As an entrepreneur, there are many challenges to tackle and many different types of people with varying personalities you'll have to interact with in order to be successful. What seemed to make the most sense to me was the fact that each personality type lies on a spectrum. There are the extroverts, the introverts and the ambiverts. For example, there are those that thrive in business settings while others prefer quiet environments.
While there's no set concrete percentages for each of these categories, it's my opinion that there is a healthy balance. Personally, I'm an introvert who thrives when in a group setting, but I also know that I can do well working one-on-one too. What I learned from studying the world of personality theory was that we all begin our lives on a curve and continue to learn about ourselves as we age and our life experiences expand. Growing up doesn't stop at adulthood either – it continues to do so even during your teenage years and into adulthood.
We've all heard the saying "Haters gonna hate" before but sometimes, it's true. Those of us that are introverted or ambivert tend to struggle with being popular and fitting in. Yet, there's no need to deal with this alone. In fact, I believe that we can overcome these challenges by learning how to raise our own special personality as well as learn about others as we go throughout life. How do you become more extroverted? By networking! How do you become more introverted? By reading! Here's how you become more ambivert: Read a book like "The Theory of Everything".
How It All Began
During my college years, I took a few semesters of Psychology. I remember it was my second semester when we were learning about personality theories. One thing that particularly stood out to me was the fact that you could be an introvert and an extrovert at the same time. That's when I began to realize that knowing what type of personality you have is just the beginning. Now, it's time to study up on others too! Looking back on everything now, I truly wish there was more information out there for people like us who are driven by their own special personalities as well as those who aren't quite sure what category they fall under.
If you can't tell, I'm an introvert myself. Even though I want to become more social, it's not always easy to do so sometimes. This is because my brain has a hard time going from one place to another, making it difficult for me to think of engaging conversation starters if I'm out and about alone. For example, my mind might start thinking about what's for dinner as soon as I step out of the house right after getting ready for the day. There's nothing wrong with that because it's my way of taking a mental break and it happens to be something I've been doing since a young age. However, if I'm trying to talk to a friend at the same time and he or she asks me what I'm thinking about, it's not an easy thing to come up with off the top of my head (I usually say "nothing") without sounding awkward.
The good news is, extroverts don't have this problem! They're more confident in social settings and they're always engaging with people. What they might not realize is that they're also being introverts at the same time. This is because they need time to themselves too. The key is knowing when your unique personality is ready to take center stage at a given time.
That's what I'm here for – to help you discover that inner strength that lies within and show others who you truly are. You already know it exists and so do I!
My Personal Journey into Personality Theory:
Of course, this all started when I was a curious young man in college and I remember my professors trying their best to explain things as simply as possible. They were kind but not everyone could grasp the concept of being an introvert, extrovert or ambivert (also known as a people pleaser).
Conclusion
The article above was inspired by the great work of Dr. Greg Hunter of Future Predictions. He found a 2014 study that used a 5-part personality test to determine one's personality type. The test focuses on 5 traits that each personality type has: 1) Being Outgoing or Introverted 2) Being Conscientious or Impulsive 3) Being Empathetic or Emotional 4) Having High or low Self-Esteem 5) Liking Interaction with others or being an Individualistic person.
As you can see, the results determined the top three personality groups based on the average results for each group of people taking the test.