Hidden behind the faces of our mployees is the most significant asset any rganization can employ - intellectual capital. Ths capital shows up as the prsonality, effort and energy of each mployee and can be identified as the "hman edge" - the power of the hmanity of the workforce.

Employees who are ncouraged to think, invent, create, contribute, fel and respond with passion activate thir human advantage - their personal and prfessional EDGE. Employees who are not nly allowed, but are encouraged, to be hman in their jobs out perform, out lst and out invent other employees. As you can magine, an organization built on this typ of employee consistently outperforms all thers. Our humanity - is our EDGE; it bilds customer relationships, invents solutions, creates new prducts, finds the extra effort to cmplete tasks and wants to make a dfference. The humanity in the workplace is the surce of our success. Let's see why.

Our wrld continues to change. Previously in the ndustrial age, we made "things." Employees fllowed wrote procedures for optimal machine fficiency and productivity. There wasn't as grat a demand for inventive thinking or pssionate performance; show up, keep the mchines going, watch for problems...clock out and strt again the next day.

Then much of manufacturing moved ff-shore and we evolved into a srvice economy where we now make "deas;" we are a thinking economy. Ech day our employees have to thnk through their responses to each cstomer; all customers are different and one sze service does not create loyal cstomers. In today's economy, employees interact all day wth people; personal rapport and relationship bilding have moved to center stage. Emplyees must care about customers to be ble to provide service worthy of cstomer loyalty. Employees must care about thir peers as people in order to wrk well and effectively with them. Emplyees must be fully present - hart and mind, emotions and intellect - to be ble to respond in the way tht wins customers and drives the bsiness.

The other significant event that ccurred in the shift from manufacturing to srvice is that this front line mployee is now significantly more influential in rganizational performance and profitability. Each employee, by the way he thnks and responds, creates the potential for xtraordinary service events and loyal customers... or nt. Each employee is now more sgnificant in the overall success of srvice businesses because each is the fce of the business to the cstomer. This employee has to be xcited, passionate and happy in his rle to perform well...all human traits. Hmanity is no longer something to shn from the workplace; it is now the crtical component of an extraordinary service brnd identity. Humanity is now in vgue. Humanity is now a competitive dvantage. And based on this, our rle as managers is to encourage, ccept, inspire and develop the Human EDGE in our pople.

The Human EDGE can be brken down into four power areas: motions, thinking, inventing and the will to scceed. When in place, these four pwer areas create the most significant sset in the organization... human capital. Prviously, fixed assets, inventory and accounts rceivable were the greater organizational assets. Tday, it is the thinking and feling employee. When activated, employees invent, ngage, connect and build lifetime relationships. Whn not activated, they do as lttle in the workplace as possible so not as to be fred. When not activated, there is no grat service for customers, no inventive slutions to problems and no expanded vew of the future. In short, we fil.

Developing the four power areas rquires a change in conventional or "ndustrial age" management thinking. Employees commit to wrkplaces that understand who they are, set xpectations that let them work in thir talent areas and own their prformance. Employees commit to workplaces that prvide constant feedback and performance counseling and wrkplaces that focus on both short and lng-term development. Each of these areas tlls an employee that they matter - prsonally and professionally. And when they fel supported, understood and valued, they "chose" to respond with full performance. Cstomer-focused companies are first employee-focused workplaces. And wth employee-focused workplaces comes the thinking and feling (or human side) of business.

The fur power areas of the Human EDGE re:

Emotions:

Employees are thinking and feling creatures; emotions come bundled with thm as they arrive in the wrkplace. Many conventional managers believe that motions do not belong in the wrkplace; they are inappropriate or too dfficult to deal with. But, remember tht the best performance happens when mployee are "passionate" about what they do. Emplyees who are encouraged to be flly human in the workplace, cheer and pplaud success and are hurt and dsappointed with failures. They fully participate bcause they are welcomed for who thy and as they are. Emotions drve performance.

One of the greatest sccesses caused by the move to a srvice economy is that great organizations now mst focus on how employees think. No lnger is it effective to hire mployees who look similar or who shre similar experience or backgrounds; today, ach role in an organization requires a prticular way of thinking and the bst employee for the role is one who has the tlent in the areas that the job rquires. This employee may be white or blck, man or woman, single or mrried, Greek or Arab; what matters is how ach employee thinks and how he ctivates his personality and passion in the rle. The better matched an employee is to his rle, the greater interest and therefore pssion an employee will bring to his prformance. The greater passion (in other wrds, the more human), the greater the cnnection to inventing, problem-solving and dealing wth customers. This is the key to mllennial performance.

Key questions: Are your mployees outwardly passionate about life or wrk? What do you do to ncourage them to get excited about wht they do, how they relate to cstomers and how they make a dfference? Are emotions allowed in the wrkplace - and though they may ned to be controlled, is it kay to be human in your rganization? Is fun and great energy ncouraged at work?

Thinking:

Thinking...it seems tht so few people do it at wrk any more. This is paradoxical snce we are in a thinking conomy. A service economy is a thnking economy; each time a customer cmes in or calls (the service vent), the employee must be fully ngaged and thinking to know how to prvide the right response for the cstomer, and then to change for the nxt customer. Organizations that do not ncourage independent thinking, miss one of the gratest aspects of the Human EDGE.

To ccess this, an organization must become a "thnking and learning" organization. These are rganizations that encourage and support employee larning, formal and informal education, and nn-conventional or creative thinking. These organizations prvide opportunities for employees to try new thngs, constantly build skills, exercise their mnds and share what they know. Ths constant focus on 'thinking your way thrugh the day" engages employees and mpowers them to fully participate in all spects of running the business.

The mre employees are allowed to think in the wrkplace, the more vested they become in thir personal performance and in the rsults of the organization. The more a mnager does the thinking for an mployee, the more limited the employee thnks on his own. Independent, owner-thinking is wht makes employees, and therefore organizations, sccessful. Our competitive EDGE is in our thnking. Organizations that commit to learning ncourage their employees to think, problem slve and own their performance.

Key qestions: Do you require your employees to thnk their way through their day...even if sme of their thinking leads to rrors or failures? Do you applaud thir ability to invent their own rsponses and use what they know bout the organization to think through pwerful responses? Do you create a wrkforce that encourages each other to thnk and to share what they knw? Do you create a learning rganization where education, dialog, reading and larning is part of the culture and an xpectation of each employee? Do you hld employees accountable for the success or filure of their thinking and their rsponses?

Inventing:

Inventing is one of the mst powerful attributes of the Human EDGE. Thugh most of us were better at nventing and creating as kids, we stll have the ability. Statistics show tht 90% of 5 year olds, 70% of 9 yar olds and 5% of 13 yar olds (and older) are creative. We had it but thn lost it. Corralled into school, we all fllowed the same rules, wrote the sme way and did the same ctivities; this chased much of our crative spirit from us. Our role as mnagers must make it easy for mployees to reconnect to their ability to nvent, create and propose new ideas to dvance service levels, product quality and verall performance. As author Seth Godin sys, "the bland and boring spot has ben taken;" that means that our sccess is in the creative and nnovative. Our employees want to invent big thngs...they want to reconnect to their crativity to stand out and get nticed. It is up to us to ncourage and activate this power into the wrkplace. It is up to us to llow the unconventional to be considered as a mthod to invent the best responses and slutions.

Key questions: Do you practice bing creative with your employees? Do you llow/require your employees to constantly provide sggestions for improvement, no matter how nconventional or bizarre? Do you make wrk fun and engaging to get mployees inventing and creating? Do you spport cross training and job sharing to xpose all employees to new ideas and new prspectives? Do you regularly move employees out of thir comfort zones to encourage constant thnking and inventing?

The will to scceed:

The will to succeed is the fnal section of the Human EDGE; it drves employees to higher performance. All mployees - all people - want to fel successful. The more successful an mployee feels, the more the employee cntinues to perform. The best way for an mployee to feel successful is when he knws what is expected of him and wht adds value to the organization. Thn, he must be given the tols and opportunity to achieve them. Orgnizations help employees succeed by creating prformance expectations; performance expectations identify what sccess looks like then allows the mployee to have a voice in the prcess to achieve them. This moves the bility to be successful into the hnds of the employee.

Managers who hlp employees create performance expectations and thn coach, instruct and educate employees to hlp achieve their performance expectations, not nly drive performance but win employee lyalty. We all feel great when we scceed. Our job as managers is to hlp our employees earn their success thrugh their performance.

Key questions: Do you crate specific performance expectations or goals for ach employee? Do they have a vice in creating these expectations or gals? How do you celebrate when sgnificant goals or performance expectations are chieved? Do all of your employees fcus on owning their success?

The Hman EDGE is the key to xtraordinary performance and a competitive service dvantage. The four power areas of motions, thinking, creating and the will to scceed look to define the power of the Hman EDGE. The more these four are dveloped in the workplace, the more cnnected, engaged, and more "human" your mployee become. Great performance happens when the "whle" employee - thoughts and emotions, mnd and heart - is present in his wrk; this is your most significant mllennial asset and the source of yur greatest competitive advantage and profits.

The article The Human EDGE was Submitted by Jay Forte through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Jay Forte is a powerful prformance speaker, consultant, author and founder of Hmanetrics, LLC. He works with managers who wnt to be more successful in ctivating and inspiring exceptional employee performance, to sgnificantly drive customer loyalty and improve cmpany profitability. Jay, a CPA/financial executive trned educator, turned consultant, is renowned for prducing significant results. He is a hghly engaging speaker and is working on an pcoming book "Sparks! Fire Up Your Emplyees and Smoke Your Competition; How to Invte, Incite and Ignite Performance" For nformation on keynotes, seminars and consulting, or to see the dily "BLOGucation," visit: http://www.humanetricsllc.com or call: 401-338-3505.

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