How to change people's mindset through attitude renewal

Dr. K. Kuhathasan CEO: Cenlead

When you say, "I like my job", "I am proud to be a part of my company", "I am very confident of completing the assignment", you are expressing your attitude. An attitude is a readiness to respond in a certain way to a person, object, idea or situation. Attitudes may remain relatively stable over time, others are subject to change with the accumulation of new information and experience. Attitude influences behaviour. Behaviour can also influence attitudes. For example, if Perera behaves in a certain way to please his boss, the response might be positive and Perera might find his attitude of disliking changing to liking. In this case, his own behaviour would have contributed to his change in attitude. Employee attitudes toward their job and company are important because they can influence productivity and satisfaction. An employee's general attitude towards his or her job is called job satisfaction.

The quality of your work depends on the quality of your mind-set. Just like any other aspect of engineering, human engineering or attitude engineering should be undertaken to produce a healthy state of mind or positive attitude.

Research has shown a negative relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism and turnover.

A similar and ever stronger relationship is found between absenteeism and turnover and the organization's commitment, which is an indication of how strongly an individual identifies with her or his organization.

Employee attitudes are important and many companies measure them by means of attitude surveys.

These surveys call upon employees to rate their attitudes towards their work, pay and benefits, supervisor, upper management, peer groups, opportunities for advancement and other areas. Effective managers augment these formal surveys with informal observation and indirect indicators such as absenteeism and turnover. The value of such surveys will depend largely on how skillfully and effectively managers use these results to improve identified problem areas.

Attitude engineering

The future belongs to those who can understand and 'engineer' proper attitudes at the workplace. Whenever a human interaction is involved to produce goods or services, the quality of the same depends upon the 'soft' aspect of the human mind which may be called 'attitude', 'mindset' or 'state of mind'. Just like any other aspect of engineering, 'human engineering' or 'attitude engineering' should also be understood to produce desirable actions and behaviour from any human being.

If the purpose of Production Engineering is to streamline production of parts, Attitude Engineering will produce a healthy mind- set.

If Quality Engineering aims at enhancing the quality parameters of products, Attitude Engineering aims at improving the quality of thoughts and behaviour. If Industrial Engineering aims at economising human motion and optimising them, Attitude Engineering will bring about a positive change in people. If this is accepted as a rationale, the next question is: How do we 'engineer' attitude? Attitude has a lot of bearing on the value system. If an organization and its employees do not believe in these value systems as parameters, they cannot produce an attitude of mind to care for the customers and their expectations.

The company should have an action plan to promote these values There are two sources from where valued are formed viz, environment and upbringing.

The company should have a value based environment. All that an organisation should do is to propagate and educate the employees and bring them up to encourage a mind-set appreciating the values.

Your performance

A positive work environment often produces fewer mistakes, higher quality and better productivity. A negative attitude is a distraction. It interferes with everyone's focus and consumes time and energy for people to deal with it.

Business competition is very demanding; it moves at a fast pace, budgets are tight and the work itself can sometimes be physically demanding. A positive person makes the work more satisfying and enjoyable for everyone.

Everyone - employees, associates, supervisors - depends upon the positive attitude of others to establish and maintain a team spirit.

A positive attitude at all organizational levels and in every location makes everyone's job easier.

Some people have difficult personal lives. They always look for a positive workplace that can help them deal with their difficulties.

Approximately half of a person's working hours are spent in the workplace. Without some positive attitudes around, their work life may become miserable.

Positive and negative attitudes travel quickly in the workplace. Working near a person with a positive attitude is an energizing experience. He or she can make others feel more upbeat.

'Change the way people think'

Today the challenge for managers is to develop a positive attitude among people and events. If we believe that someone is negative, we may feel bad for the person and act unfriendly. "Change the way people think", said South African civil rights martyr Steve Biko, "and things will never be the same".

Most social psychologists shared Biko's belief that there is a close connection between thought and action, character and conduct, private words and public deeds. They conducted many follow-up studies during the 1970s and 1980s (Kraus, 1991). These studies reveal that our attitudes will guide our actions.

The policy of fair treatment

Honour the sound principles of fair treatment. Listen to the needs of others and respect what they say. Treat each person as an individual. Using dehumanizing techniques, can destroy positive attitudes that have taken months or years to build.

Attitudes are caught, not taught

The attitudes of followers reflect the attitudes of their leader - especially as these attitudes are expressed in the leader's actions.

Reprogram your subconscious mind

People with a positive outlook enjoy greater personal confidence. A basketball player without confidence won't make the shot. A sales representative without confidence might as well stay at home. A supervisor without confidence will seldom be successful.

The foundation for personal confidence is a positive attitude. Reprogram your subconscious mind with positive affirmations such as "I am excellent in all what I do." I am always positive, constructive and dynamic". "I am a winner".

Attitude renewal

Whenever something occurs to undermine or destroy someone's positive attitude, immediately start the process of attitude renewal for that person. Don't wait, don't ignore the situation and especially, don't let the person drift alone. Go back-start the renewal process immediately and give them an opportunity to recapture their positive attitude.

Interpersonal relations

When you focus on staying positive, you can inspire others to follow your example. With a positive attitude you can develop mutually supportive relationship with your team.

Final tips

* A positive person makes the work more satisfying and enjoyable for everyone.

* Supervisors depend upon the positive attitudes of others to establish and maintain a team spirit that is focused on efficiency, productivity and quality. Positive attitudes at all organizational levels and at every business location, make everyone's job easier.

* Most supervisors value - and expect - a positive attitude from the people they work with.

* A positive attitude can help you enhance your career (money), create better personal relationships (happiness) and come closer to reaching your life goals (success - as you define it). You win in all directions.

* Your attitude is a mind-set worth developing, reinforcing and renewing.

* A positive attitude is your most priceless possession!