I constantly hear complaints of staff that just show up to collect a check and how hard it is to find and keep good team members to replace them. Today, I’m going to bat for all the workers out there because I don’t believe anybody starts a job thinking about how they can screw up your business. I believe that most employee issues are caused by management. Creating and engaging team members is easy once you know how.

An engaged team member is a person that is emotionally, mentally, and physically engaged in your business. They see themselves as part of the business and measure their success by the business’s success. The most engaged a co-worker will ever be to your business is on their first day. What you do on that day determines the continued engagement and long-term success of that person. You need to set the stage for the rest of their time with you with four easy steps.

• Clear. You’ve got to be clear on the values you run your company by,...

When you get this blog post this morning, I hope you’re taking a break from a busy day at work to read it. When I say the word work, what does that mean to you? I’ve found that the satisfaction you experience from what you do is determined by your level of engagement. There are three levels of engagement. How engaged are you in what you do?

• Level 1. You have a job. This is the lowest level of engagement where you’re trading time for money. You show up on time and you leave on time. You do only what you have to in order to keep your job in between. Even though you’re there physically; mentally and emotionally, you’re a million miles away. You don’t like what you do but don’t feel like you can change because this is what you’re used to.
• Level 2. You have a career. This is the middle level of engagement where you’ve committed to becoming the best at what you do. You read, watch, and listen to anything that helps...

Anyone that reads this blog knows I love quotes. They’re incredible lessons wrapped up in little nuggets. I came across one yesterday that really got me thinking and piecing things together. The quote is “A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after a success.” – Unknown. Think about those words for a moment. Let them mull in your brain. When an employee fails, is giving encouragement your go to response? If you’re like most, I’m willing to bet No.

Think about it though, it really makes sense. Sure your employees want to be recognized for doing things right, we all do. But how much more important is it to let them know that you believe in them and care about them when they fail? Instead of letting them feel bad because they failed and actually adding to it by getting upset and making them feel worse, you build them up and reinforce the fact that they’re a good person.

The best way to deal with the...