13L
Based on How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton
Recently I read a small, yet powerful book titled
How Full is Your Bucket?
The book uses the metaphor of filling a bucket to reflect that each of us
has an invisible bucket that can be emptied or filled, depending on what is
said or done. How full our bucket is varies from moment to moment, and
interaction to interaction. When one’s bucket is full, our mood is
optimistic and our energy level is high.
Just as significant, yet in an opposite way, is saying or doing things that cause negative emotions in others while concurrently diminishing ourselves and our bucket. This results in a less than positive mood that drains energy.
An important companion principle proposed by Rath and Clifton is that each of us possesses a metaphorical dipper that we can use to fill or empty our and others’ buckets. Stated differently, when we say or do things to increase others positive emotions, we simultaneously fill our own bucket. The power in this bucket and dipper metaphor is that each of us, over the course of the day, is offered a choice to either fill or empty buckets. As Rath and Clifton state, “it's an important choice – one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health, and happiness."
Imagine a workplace where people are emotionally charged and optimistic. The Gallup Organization found, through its extensive survey process, that individual’s who receive regular recognition and praise:
- Increase their
individual productivity
- Increase engagement among their colleagues
- Have better safety records and fewer accidents on the job
- Are more likely to stay with the organization longer
- Receive higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers
Here are some more startling facts from the book:
- The
number-one reason people leave their jobs is they don't feel appreciated.
- 65% of Americans received no recognition in the workplace last year.
- Bad bosses could increase the risk of stroke by 33%.
- Negative employees can scare off every customer they speak with –
for good.
- 9 out of 10 people say they are more productive when they're around
positive people.
- It takes 5 positive interactions to counteract 1 negative interaction.
- There’s such a thing as too much positive emotion -- more than 13
positive interactions
for every 1 negative interaction could decrease productivity.
- Increasing positive emotions could lengthen life span by 10 years.
We can choose to start to be a more powerful leader today by adopting four of the strategies proposed by Rath and Clifton to increase positive emotions in your and others’ lives:
Prevent Bucket Dipping – Begin
by declaring your intention not to bucket dip and becoming mindful of how
you interact with others. Try to catch yourself in the act of bucket
dipping. Once you’ve curtailed your own bucket dipping, encourage a similar
shift in others.
Shine a Light on What is Right – Focus on the positive, rather than
dwelling on the negative. When someone fills your bucket, accept it and pass
it on.
Make Best Friends – Great relationships result in enhanced
satisfaction with life. If you want to initiate what could become a best
friend caliber relationship, at your very first interaction, fill the
other’s bucket! If you want to improve a relationship, begin now by telling
the most important people in your life how important they are to you and
why.
Give Unexpectedly – A recent Gallup poll found that the vast majority
of people prefer gifts that are unexpected. In your interaction with others,
look for opportunities to give small gifts, like a smile.
The authors offer us a fun and readily
accessible way of filling someone’s bucket by creating electronic or paper
drops. They define drops as “a simple way to share kind words with others."
Drops are a great way to act on the Theory of The Dipper and the Bucket.
People enjoy receiving them and often keep them for years.” Their web page
offers you three choices for sending a drop. So, visit the
Drop Zone and initiate an electronic drop; prepare and print out a paper
drop; or order printed, card stock drops. Think about how you would feel if
someone gave you a drop and offer that positive emotion to someone whom you
appreciate and want to recognize.
