There are no small positions – only small expectations

Small changes can have HUGE impact

Creating WOW experiences at work can sometimes seem daunting.  In fact, have you ever thought to yourself, “I’m just a ‘peon’ here. No one will listen to me… what can I do?”

Once we begin to expect more from ourselves (and each other) and get rid of the mindset that we can’t accomplish anything in our organization because we’re not high up enough in rank to have the “title” of manager, supervisor or executive, we can actually get to the point of creating impact in our organization.  And once managers eliminate the belief  (or fear) that lower level employees are simply “marking time” and don’t care about the organization, and begin expecting (and rewarding) more high-level results, those results are encouraged and enabled.

Maybe no one can do it individually, but read below how a group of administrative professionals was able to create very desirable results by putting their heads together and making one small change that led to HUGE savings in their organization:

During my presentation at their Administrative Professionals Day celebration, the Admins told me they had discovered that different departments, buildings, and locations were buying office supplies from several different vendors, with price ranges varying greatly from group to group.  They decided to request bids from all current suppliers, then selected the vendor with the best prices, service, and terms and started ordering all their supplies from that one vendor.

This one change saved the organization over $1M per year in office supply costs!

The next time you begin to believe that you can’t effect change because you’re “just one person,” remember this lesson, and think about ways you can help yourself, your colleagues and your organization by banding together, brainstorming ways to create WOW’s in your organization, and then getting a group dynamic going that can have a huge impact through a coordinated effort.

This entry was posted in Leadership/Employee Engagement, Rule #2: A WOWplace is Respectful, Rule #3: A WOWplace is Human... Not Humanoid!, Rule #4: A WOWplace is Innovative, Creative & Fun! and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to There are no small positions – only small expectations

  1. A change in mindset can cause many good things to happen.
    Good management also encourages this kind of change by informing
    and motivating employees in that direction.

    • Sandy says:

      Thank you for your reply! You’re absolutely right – that’s why a good mentoring/coaching program is an effective way to develop leaders within an organization, as well. Lots of organizations are putting in mentoring programs for new managers and supervisors, for women wishing to navigate the corporate ladder, and for entry level employees looking for a career path within the organization.

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