“ PEOPLE BRING A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ENERGY TO THEIR WORK EACH DAY , AND AS LEADERS , WE HAVE VERY LITTLE INFLUENCE OVER THAT . BUT WHAT WE DO HAVE INFLUENCE ON IS HOW THEY DIRECT THEIR ENERGY .”
FEATURE STORY
> reinforcement throughout their journeys . The trick is to eventually be able to answer the following three questions in a productive manner :
1 . Where are you putting your focus ? Do you create the outcomes you want or are you overwhelmed with problems ?
2 . How are you relating to others , your experience , and yourself ? Do you act in ways that perpetuate drama or empower others ?
3 . What actions are you taking ? Are you simply reacting to problems thrown at you , or are you proactively trying to create healthier outcomes ?
Many observers have come to swear by Emerald ’ s message , helping to spur his modest fable of self-empowerment into a mini-empire of books , workbooks , courses , and leadership training programs . Participants in his programs tell stories of dramatically turning their lives around or freeing their workplace from unnecessary drama and conflict . Others tell of buying dozens of copies of his books for staff and colleagues and even registering to become TED * trainers themselves . Today , Emerald ’ s TED * has influenced giant corporate leaders like Google and IBM as well as dozens of municipalities , hospitals , associations , and financial institutions . Emerald , along with his wife , Donna Zajonc , now heads the Bainbridge Leadership Center , coaching companies on leadership issues . He is also a business facilitator , public speaker , and author .
TED IN THE WORKPLACE The beauty of bringing TED * into the workplace , says client Steve Hall , CEO of driversselect . com , is that it can transform both your personal and professional life simultaneously into models of excellence . Sure enough , upon landing at the driversselect website , one is immediately struck by an A + rating by the Better Business Bureau as well as a “ Best Places to Work 2016 ” citation by the Dallas Business Journal , both of which symbolize a commitment to fostering the type of positivity that TED * embodies . The company touts its purpose is “ to infect the world with highly contagious C . A . R . E .
( Caring Acts Randomly Expressed ).”
Hall first met Emerald at a business event some years ago and grew to embrace the TED * model which , he says , has become part of his company ’ s very DNA . “ People bring a certain amount of energy to their work each day , and as leaders , we have very little influence over that . But what we do have influence on is how they direct their energy ,” says Hall . “ Do they choose to show up as Victims , Creators , Persecutors , Challengers , Rescuers , or Coaches ? If they choose to become a Coach , a Challenger , or a Creator , their confidence will rise and they will be a better performer and better person all around .”
“ PEOPLE BRING A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ENERGY TO THEIR WORK EACH DAY , AND AS LEADERS , WE HAVE VERY LITTLE INFLUENCE OVER THAT . BUT WHAT WE DO HAVE INFLUENCE ON IS HOW THEY DIRECT THEIR ENERGY .”
Hall has parlayed his strong belief in Emerald ’ s leadership philosophy into a boon for his company , growing revenue from $ 38 million to $ 140 million since implementing TED * two and a half years ago . Nearly 60 percent of his 100-person workforce have completed some sort of TED * training , and he raves about the transformation . The Power of TED * website quotes Hall : “ A big part is [ that ] the mental , physical , emotional , and spiritual energy people bring to work today is not being wasted on internal drama and building silos but rather focused on growing the business and taking on the challenges of the marketplace .... We have measurable results in turnover , absenteeism , and revenue per employee that blows our industry out of the water .”
Another TED * client , David Knoch , praises Emerald for often being able to see a client ’ s issues more clearly than the client itself . A professional certified financial planner , Knoch talks about the period in 2008 when his clients ’ portfolios nosedived — along with practically everyone else ’ s — during the Great Recession . “ In this type of scenario ,” he says , “ it ’ s easy to fall into a cycle of victimhood .” He describes how in times of falling markets , the client often feels like the Victim and the advisor is seen as the Persecutor for not implementing a more profitable investment strategy . What Knoch learned from his TED * work is how essential it is to make clients impassioned about their investment strategy , in effect , feeling some ownership of it , so they can have a majority stake in achieving their financial hopes and dreams in both good times and bad .
“ We aim for enabling intentional living — the empowerment dynamic ,” says Knoch . “ Helping people make promises and have them come true by taking action .” When an employee survey revealed that employees would prefer to slow down the pace of change at their company , Knoch and his team helped them better embrace change by creating a 10-week program , which included classroom discussions and group work , to help them adapt to their new work model . “ We have no choice but to move quickly in our marketplace ,” he said , “ but we could arm employees with information that would allow them to feel empowered .” The company is now even more TED * focused than before , with TED * -themed forums , discussion groups , and small-group work designed to dive into leadership topics even further .
GETTING STARTED One easy way for a company to get started with TED * , according to Emerald , is to shift management ’ s philosophy to one of “ Ask first , tell second ” rather than the reverse . This means that when an employee presents a question to the boss , rather than jump in with the answer , the boss asks the employee
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