When Your Communication "Sings," Your Business Soars! ™

Love your job?

I was ordering a take-out lunch the other day and was really struck by the young woman behind the counter who was helping me. She was polite and efficient, but at the same time she seemed to be almost constitutionally unable to smile. We made direct eye contact several times throughout the ordering process but it was always the same:

“Welcome, sir can I help you?” No smile.
“Anything more you’d like with that?” Nothing there.
“Do you want some napkins? Do you need your receipt?” Stone-faced.
“All right, thank you.” Not a glimmer. No movement at the corner of the mouth, at the eyes. Nothing.

Does she love her job? It sure didn’t look like it to me. Now, the truth is, of course, I don’t really know. At one time or another everyone gives an impression that’s different from what they really feel. So it’s possible she does love her job and just isn’t a smiler. But as a customer, the impression I get in that moment is all I have to go on. So, based on that, the answer is no, she does not love her job. She doesn’t even like her job. Being there, wearing that uniform, serving her customers: zero fun, for her. No pleasure whatsoever.

Now, from a management perspective, the question of whether someone who gives that sort of impression should be in a position like that is a great question. But for this discussion I’m really more interested in the question from her perspective, about what’s good for her.

In an upcoming edition of John Miller’s “Be Outstanding” show, Dan Miller (no relation) talks about the importance of finding the work we love rather than just going through the motions. And I think that’s great and wise advice. But it can take some time, too, and is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. So, in addition to searching for the job we love, sometimes the best thing to do right now, today, is to find a way to love the job we already have. And as silly as it might sound, smiling is not a bad place to start.

When we smile it makes us feel better right then in that moment. So we’re already enjoying ourselves more. But more importantly, smiling also tends to make the other person smile back and creates a sense of connection between us, and that’s really the key.

To love the job you already have, connect better with the people you work with.

Change the way you talk to them. Be a better listener. Be genuinely interested in them and their lives. In conversations with people, don’t talk about yourself all the time, talk about the other person instead. Also, talk about the emotions in whatever you’re talking about. Use feeling words and empathetic expressions, like, “Oh, that’s hard.” or “Wow, you must feel great about that!”

There are many things you can do to connect better with people—and avoid dis-connecting with them. And when you do, miracle of miracles, you’ll find yourself loving your job.

Does that mean that you can love any job, that any job can be perfect for you? No. Keep searching for the work you really truly love. But in the meantime, work on connecting better with the people you work with, and see if you don’t find a lot more enjoyment and satisfaction in the job you already have.

Tags: Communication, communication training, leadership development, leadership training

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Communication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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