Holy Cow!: How to Create An Amazing Workplace That Steers Passion, Performance, and Prosperity

By Tracy Butz and Steve Gilliland

HOLY COW! is for every person who has said, “Is it time to go home yet?” It is for every individual who feels like work is no fun and is consumed with unlimited issues—big and small—that impact you more than you want. I realize you may be saying, “This is deja moo”—you’ve heard this bull before. I understand your hesitation. This book is different. It clearly outlines specific strategies to create positive and lasting change in the workplace. And transformational change like this is not just a leadership function; it is the role of every single person. Use HOLY COW! as a means of udderly enhancing your level of passion and performance—benefitting you, your team, and your organization’s prosperity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9780988220768

Book preview

www.stevegilliland.com

Introduction

Toxic workplaces have become a hot topic of conversation in the business world. And almost everyone has a story to tell about a bad boss, a crazy colleague, or a dreadful place to work. It can be difficult to determine if your workplace has a normal amount of challenges, is seriously dysfunctional, or is chronically toxic—the latter of which can zap your energy and productivity, crush your attitude and motivation levels both at work and home, and even threaten your mental, emotional and physical health.

Here are some telltale signs that your workplace is headed down a perilous path:

•Unhealthy, pervasive communication patterns are common—like withholding information, using it to mislead, or naming the source of intel as rumors.

•Policies and procedures are poorly implemented, followed inconsistently, or don't exist at all.

•The organization is filled with toxic people—both leaders and individual contributors—which management fails to address or simply ignores.

•Work adversely affects your personal life. As your workweek approaches, your loved ones see an acute lack of enthusiasm, an increasingly intense level of undeniable stress, and a glum and pessimistic attitude about the miserable grind ahead.

The bad news is that horrible workplaces do exist. The good news is that I wrote HOLY COW! to help anyone who wants to create positive culture change at work. By reading and applying the strategies unveiled in this book, you can transform your workplace one small step at a time.

Transforming an organization's culture is not just a leadership function. It is the role of every single person. It begins with you—the person who recognizes the problem and has now discovered the solution. Be the catalyst for change and prepare to hear chants declaring, HOLY COW! This is an amazing workplace!"

Unfortunately, instead of positive mantras, lyrics belted out at workplaces near and far often mimic Dolly Parton's famous song, 9 to 5:

Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'.

Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'.

They just use your mind, and they never give you credit.

It's enough to drive you, crazy—if you let it.

Clearly, the legendary Ms. Parton understood the drudgery of working 9 to 5. Regardless, the point is that many people equate work with feelings of frustration, worry, disappointment, stress, unhappiness, anger, resentment, or sometimes even fear. Work doesn't have to feel or be this way. We can talk about issues or feelings like these until the cows come home—or you can take action.

I know what you're thinking. The voice inside your head is saying this is deja moo—the feeling that you've heard this bull before. I understand your hesitation. This book is different. HOLY COW! clearly outlines specific strategies to create incremental positive change in the workplace that makes a real and lasting impact.

Imagine making one small change after another, and seeing your workplace transforming before your eyes. People begin harnessing their excitement, energy and effort. Teams actively engage in collaboration and share best practices in productive and meaningful ways. Organizations grow stronger than ever with high levels of passion, performance and prosperity.

Make the time now to initiate the change you want to see. Don't sit back and scream, This workplace sucks! Instead, learn, love and live the strategies found in this book, and soon you'll be proclaiming proudly, This is a HOLY COW! Workplace.

Chapter 1

Track Emotional Investments

efore determining how to create a HOLY COW! Workplace, the first step must be to understand where the organization is currently. You can't fix something unless you know if it's broken; and if it is, you can then set out to determine what specific parts need fixing and implement a method of measurement to ensure your efforts are creating the change you want.

But what is a worthwhile metric to track?