http://www.a1articles.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com You can create a major motivating influence when you show individual employee recognition. Check this against your own experience - how motivating is it for you when someone acknowledges and appreciates your efforts? Most people welcome attention that... http://www.a1articles.com/how-is-employee-recognition-a-fast-way-to-boost-team-motivation-2218227.html 09th May 2011 It is an astonishing fact - repeatedly shown in numerous surveys - that two-thirds of the workforce are not engaged in their work. Imagine the magnitude of lost productivity and innovation this represents! It also lies at the heart of much workplace strif... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-boost-employee-motivation-with-better-leadership-2204082.html 03rd May 2011 There is nothing like a worthwhile purpose to unite and motivate a group of workers. You can see this clearly in the voluntary sector. This is where people are motivated by 'the cause'. You can use the same basic principle to motivate the employees in you... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-motivate-the-employees-with-a-sense-of-purpose-2187438.html 14th April 2011 Some of the most motivational techniques you can use are actually quite simple. Giving recognition is one of these. Which makes it all the more curious that many managers and leaders miss it when they want to motivate the staff. When you think back ove... http://www.a1articles.com/10-tips-to-motivate-the-staff-using-recognition-2184388.html 13th April 2011 Sometimes it is essential to take stock - in fact our success depends on it. Here's a recent experience of mine that shows why. I had arranged a short break in the country. I drove the car and my friend read the map. Before each leg of the journey we w... http://www.a1articles.com/aiming-for-success--how-to-keep-on-track-1671498.html 03rd August 2010 Inspiration is powerful stuff. Inspired people are fully energised and clearly focused, which means they are strongly motivated and engaged in the action they take. These are prized qualities in the workplace - a manager's dream! - yet inspired colleagues... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-inspire-your-team--5-reasons-to-start-with-yourself-1621766.html 27th June 2010 Do you ever get so caught up in thinking that you can't make real progress? Whichever way you turn, there seem to be obstacles and, in the end, thinking leads back to where you started. It reminds me of a visit to London where I travelled on the Circle... http://www.a1articles.com/are-you-stuck--how-to-escape-from-circular-thinking-1462635.html 22nd March 2010 Boredom is a curse. It starts when you have no interest in what you are doing or supposed to be doing. The early signs are day-dreaming and procrastination and it can quickly lead to frustration and despair. Boredom numbs the mind and exhausts the body; u... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-escape-from-boredom-and-renew-your-energy-1420912.html 01st March 2010 When we're looking for inspiration, we can search high and low and yet easily overlook what is already nearby. Change is all around us and often presented as a problem to overcome or a challenge to be tackled. Yet within change there is a fantastic opport... http://www.a1articles.com/inspiration-gold-mine--how-to-use-the-positive-side-of-change-1414065.html 24th February 2010 What do you believe is really possible to achieve in the months ahead? I ask myself the same question. The reason is that it's too easy to set self-imposed limits without realising it. The universal way we do this is with labels. If you have ever tried... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-overcome-barriers-to-a-brighter-future-1380310.html 08th February 2010 It can make you really mad! One day you wake up and realise that your life is being shaped entirely by other people. Almost everything you do is decided for you while your needs, goals and dreams are right at the back of the queue. Actually, don't get ... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-run-your-own-life--dont-let-others-do-it-for-you-1372358.html 02nd February 2010 From a young age, we learn to be wary of commitment. After all, it can lead to all manner of unwelcome obligations. How else did we get stuck with playing a boring game or with the torment of being polite to an unwelcome visitor? When we leave childhoo... http://www.a1articles.com/creating-the-life-you-want--is-commitment-friend-or-foe-1335474.html 08th January 2010 Have you ever fantasised about having an invisibility cloak? Then you could wrap yourself, Harry Potter style, and sneak unseen into privileged places. What secrets you could discover! Of course you would want to take the cloak off sometimes - when you... http://www.a1articles.com/do-you-have-hidden-talent--how-you-can-make-it-visible-1260366.html 26th November 2009 Can you remember a day when you noticed something for the first time that was actually there all along? Many people have this experience. It demonstrates the ability to create fresh perspectives of the familiar world. So when we want to be creative and in... http://www.a1articles.com/be-inspired--surprise-yourself-with-fresh-perspectives-1242572.html 23rd November 2009 Whatever the context, when we speak to a group of people it is tempting to devote too much attention to what we say and not enough to how we do it. If you want to be inspiring, here are some essential points: 1. Be yourself - you don't need to imitate ... http://www.a1articles.com/be-an-inspiring-speaker---ten-essential-tips-to-wow-your-audience-1236843.html 18th November 2009 When autumn deepens, and the leaves are falling fast and the temperatures are dropping, you may notice that the changing season is also marked by the appearance of the domestic fuel tanker. The natural habitat of these vehicles is the country road as t... http://www.a1articles.com/your-inner-flame--the-true-source-of-inspiration-1212223.html 02nd November 2009 Choosing your language carefully will have a big influence on your ability to inspire other people. Great orators and speech-makers know all about this and we can learn from them. We can also learn from psychology and how language works. Let's be clear... http://www.a1articles.com/the-inspiring-leader--top-10-language-tips-to-inspire-others-1206531.html 29th October 2009 It's funny how the mind works. It loves making connections, detecting patterns and creating stories. It's the mind that generates inspiration - when the conditions are right. Looking at how we experience inspiration, there seem to be three levels. This... http://www.a1articles.com/inspiration--its-more-than-a-good-idea-1159640.html 07th October 2009 Recently I stayed in a house where the owner was a keen collector of clocks. There were two impressive grandfather clocks, several pendulum wall clocks and a number of mantle clocks. Most of them chimed every hour. However, they did not all show the sa... http://www.a1articles.com/a-simpler-life--inspiration-as-the-cure-for-overcomplexity-1149623.html 05th October 2009 It was when I was travelling in New Zealand that I saw the man fall off the bridge. Not any bridge, but a high suspension bridge spanning a deep gorge. For a moment I didn't believe what I was seeing. I held my breath as the figure fell as if in slow moti... http://www.a1articles.com/authenticity--who-do-you-become-by-the-decisions-you-take-1135259.html 30th September 2009 It can be a steady source of amazement that other people believe what they do. For example, have you ever been grappling with a problem when a well-meaning but annoying person pipes up with "there's no such thing as a problem, only an opportunity"? ... http://www.a1articles.com/you-cant-be-serious--the-unexpected-benefit-of-trying-new-beliefs-1058475.html 31st August 2009 When you are aware of an unhelpful feeling or state of mind for the task(s) you have ahead, there is a powerful technique that you can use. Here's a real-life example (I've put a summary at the end). A few days ago I was working with a group of custome... http://www.a1articles.com/overcome-negative-feelings--a-proven-technique-from-real-life-1052478.html 27th August 2009 We can busy for the whole of our waking hours. This is particularly true in professional life when it seems there are not enough hours in the day. While it is important to get things done, it is counter-productive to just bash on regardless. If you wer... http://www.a1articles.com/working-smarter--how-stopping-can-get-you-there-quicker-990654.html 20th July 2009 Sometimes other people can be so frustrating. Whether it is the boss, a colleague or even a family member, you want them to change. You keep thinking "if only they would..." and you fill the blank with the behavior you prescribe. Do you remember the an... http://www.a1articles.com/difficult-colleague--how-to-get-a-change-for-the-better-967590.html 05th July 2009 It's a curious feature of human life that there are occasions when we clearly know the best thing to do and then we go and do something completely different! It can seem that part of us wants one thing and another part stops it. This is obvious in the ... http://www.a1articles.com/beyond-self-limitation--how-to-get-out-of-your-own-way-951703.html 27th June 2009 Early in my career I discovered a phenomenon which you may well recognize in your own area of work. It turned out to be a powerful way to lead and inspire. My first job was a software developer and this entailed fixing bugs in programs. Sometimes a bug... http://www.a1articles.com/inspire-others--the-impact-of-attention-935764.html 15th June 2009 When you're inspired you get a tremendous boost to your energy and motivation. This is a great way to get started towards your goal, yet you also need momentum to keep going to reach it. You can find momentum literally in DETAIL - one factor for each l... http://www.a1articles.com/momentum-and-goals--how-to-build-on-an-inspired-start-and-keep-it-going-933062.html 12th June 2009 How often do you follow your self-interest? I'm not expecting you do this all the time; the question is - do you do it enough of the time? Many people can give a long list of all the things that are wrong in the world, the problems they face and the... http://www.a1articles.com/brighter-future--five-reasons-to-be-selfish-897604.html 18th May 2009 Have you ever been transported back to a vivid memory by a piece of music? Or have you looked at a photo from your holiday and automatically relived the emotions that you experienced at the time? Most people can tell of occasions when one of their sens... http://www.a1articles.com/high-performance--how-to-control-your-state-of-mind-to-make-all-the-difference-892655.html 15th May 2009 Whether it is tennis, sailing or rock guitar, you can learn a lot from someone at the top of their game. The same is true for other skills. But when it comes to optimism I suspect there may be an exception. Optimists can seem to be living in a dream wo... http://www.a1articles.com/learning-from-a-real-pessimist---what-does-it-tell-us-about-optimism-884037.html 11th May 2009 There are two great reasons for sharing what inspires you: 1. You will become inspired by telling others about it 2. You will inspire some of the people you tell Recently I invited readers of my newsletter to send some of their inspirations to me... http://www.a1articles.com/sharing-inspiration--real-life-stories-881828.html 07th May 2009 It was still dark when my alarm went off. In those first moments of waking, all I could hear was the patter of rain on the window. That just made bed all the more warm and cozy. I listened again and the rain gently continued; surely I could stay a little ... http://www.a1articles.com/inspire-others-by-sharing-what-inspires-you-867415.html 23rd April 2009 When did you last play a game? Perhaps you play some kind of sport or you play some other game purely for fun and enjoyment. Then there are classic party games - I remember some of these from Christmas. Whatever the game, we expect there to be rules... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-escape-other-peoples-games-and-win-at-your-own-851997.html 09th April 2009 You may have come across the Butterfly Effect - the idea that a small change can set off big consequences. It comes from Chaos Theory which suggests that the flapping wings of a butterfly in one part of the world can change the complete weather pattern in... http://www.a1articles.com/inspiration-at-work--how-to-make-a-big-difference-with-small-changes-837379.html 27th March 2009 It seems strange, but we often make choices that work against our best interests. Why do we sabotage ourselves in this way? To get to the answer, I'd like to invite you into a thought experiment. All you have to do is use your imagination. Imagine t... http://www.a1articles.com/an-inspired-future--how-to-avoid-selfsabotage-819291.html 10th March 2009 You know how it is in a typical whodunit. At the end, when the guilty party is unmasked, it's never the dark mysterious stranger with his eyes too close together. Neither is it the jewel-dripped widow with the poisonous tongue or the vamp with the string ... http://www.a1articles.com/if-you-are-really-stuck-discover-the-key-to-an-exciting-future-805398.html 03rd March 2009 Because of the current recession, many people are living day to day, fearful of the future. If we really want to be inspired, what can we learn from the new circumstances? Coincidence is a good teacher. For example, here in the UK we have recently had ... http://www.a1articles.com/inspired-future--snow-the-recession-and-you-784791.html 13th February 2009 When change happens we can feel a whole range of emotions. The bigger the change, the stronger the emotions. What is particularly disorientating is that these emotions can fluctuate, sometimes wildly, and it is hard to know what they mean and how to ha... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-make-sense-of-your-emotions-in-the-face-of-major-change-like-the-recession-754683.html 16th January 2009 When we look towards the future, we think it's a good idea to set some goals. Actually setting goals is the third thing to do. The first thing to do is to take stock. Pause a while, reflect on what has been working well. The reason is that we often neg... http://www.a1articles.com/your-talent-for-the-future--how-finding-your-strengths-makes-all-the-difference-737785.html 05th January 2009 We all have dreams - outcomes we would really like. But often the obstacles seem too great. So they stay dreams, never making it into reality. We feel stuck, so we try to get on with day-to-day tasks and struggle to ignore the frustration. This is a he... http://www.a1articles.com/revitalise-your-work--what-to-do-when-youre-stuck-710107.html 03rd December 2008 It's too easy to lose ourselves in the complexities of working and living. Overwhelm and stress can takeover. We look desperately for simplicity. Busy-ness can be an ingrained habit. Yet we can be jolted out of it when we experience radical change. It ... http://www.a1articles.com/no-time--5-steps-to-escape-overwhelm-700836.html 01st December 2008 A busy life can too easily mean that you have no time for yourself. Overwhelm can get uncomfortably close. Yet we are not machines; we need some quality time to focus on our own needs. If you tell yourself that when you've done everything on your 'to d... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-make-quality-time-for-yourself-even-with-a-busy-schedule-681823.html 04th November 2008 What is the most maddening issue you face at work? The chances are that someone else is involved. Many people endure the experience of working with a difficult colleague. It is particularly challenging when this colleague happens to be the boss. Whe... http://www.a1articles.com/difficult-boss--4-steps-to-make-a-positive-breakthrough-672154.html 21st October 2008 In times of great change and uncertainty we look, sometimes anxiously, for some stability: a reference point, something fixed on the chart of experience. We want to orientate ourselves, to know where we are. Then we have an opportunity to navigate to wher... http://www.a1articles.com/how-to-find-stability-in-a-crisis-at-work-655377.html 02nd October 2008 There are two extreme attitudes to work - 'firebrand' and 'doormat'. Both are the result of seeing work as a series of problems to be tackled. The firebrand is the fighter, constantly chaffing and battling against the odds. The doormat is the victim who h... http://www.a1articles.com/goals--how-problems-at-work-can-actually-help-you-find-inspiration-632017.html 09th September 2008