Do you go to work to get a check or to get ahead? Mindset matters.

Be Engaged

Engagement leads to involvement.

 “I am responsible for taking action, asking questions, getting answers, and making decisions. I won’t wait for someone to tell me. If I need to know, I’m responsible for asking. I have no right to be offended that I didn’t ‘get this sooner.’ If I’m doing something others should know about, I’m responsible for telling them.” ~ Garry Ridge, CEO WD-40

High impact players are always engaged beyond what is required. They don’t expect someone else to be responsible for their results. They take ownership of themselves and their team’s results.

High impact players don’t blame others for not telling them information they need to know. They are engaged and find out what they need to know. Instead of waiting for the information to find them, they find the information.

On the other hand, if they have information others on their team need, they don’t wait for them to ask for it. They intentionally make sure they provide it.

Imagine if all of your teammates at every level had this mindset and this level of engagement.

Low impact players are exactly the opposite.

They are quick to blame a teammate for not providing the information they needed.

Low impact players are quick to make excuses and slow to find a way to make things happen.

They are also likely to have information teammates need but don’t share it unless someone asks them for it. And sometimes, they don’t share it then.

 Listen to the voices of disengaged, low impact players:

• “That’s not my job.”
• “Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”
• “That’s above my pay grade.”
• “I’m just here to get a check.”
• “They don’t pay me to think.”
• “That’s not my responsibility.”
• “I didn’t know. No one told me.”
• “How is it my fault? I didn’t know.”
• “If they would have told me sooner…”
• “I’m here to do my eight and hit the gate.”
• “You should have known I needed to know.”

There’s no doubt Napoleon Hill had low impact players in mind when he wrote the following words, “It is the practice of the majority of people to perform no more service than they feel they are being paid to perform. Fully 80% of all whom I have analyzed were suffering on account of this great mistake. You need have no fear of competition from people who say, ‘I’m not paid to do that, therefore I’ll not do it.’ They will never be a dangerous competitor for your job.”

A common phrase I’ve heard shared among the blue-collar workforce is, “I’m just here to get a check.”

I have never understood the mindset of someone who will openly admit to their teammates they are happy to sit on the bench and watch everyone else do the work of moving the team and the organization forward.

These low impact players are actually advertising to anyone who will listen that they are disengaged.

The disengaged aren’t likely to be promoted, given raises, or given new opportunities to excel. I’ve also listened to these same low impact players blame everyone else but themselves for having been in the same position since they were hired.

I saw that as an amazing accomplishment.

I couldn’t believe they still had a job!

“In the absence of ownership comes blame.” ~ Billy Taylor

The moment I take responsibility for everything is the moment I can start changing anything.

“Being proactive will allow you to stand out among your peers as someone who is a leader or who has leadership potential.” ~ Ria Story

Join us Friday, February 26, 2021 online for a FREE 2 hour, live video development session where we'll be covering the first 10 Traits of High Impact Team Players. Can't make the live session? Register and you will be provided with a link to the recording.

About Blue-Collar Leadership...

Blue-Collar Leadership? provides leaders with a platform for training and developing their workforce to unleash their potential by taking powerful leadership concepts and packaging them in easy to understand and apply resources.

Founded by Mack Story, Blue-Collar Leadership? is uniquely designed content specifically created to engage and develop the front line workforce, those who lead them, and those who support them.

We understand your biggest frustration as a leader is likely disengaged team members. We specialize in helping leaders engage the front line to improve the bottom line.

Mack Story has logged over 11,000 hours leading leaders and their teams through organizational change. He is the author of the extremely popular Blue-Collar Leadership? Series books. He also produces the Blue-Collar Leadership Podcast with new episodes posted weekly on Friday mornings.

Ria Story is an author, TEDx speaker, and expert in leadership and life skills for women. Ria has nearly 20 years of experience in leadership and management. 

Mack and Ria are certified leadership speakers and trainers and have published 31 leadership development and personal growth books. 

Highlights for them have been:

• Helping train 20,000 Guatemalan Leaders with John Maxwell
• Speaking at Yale University
• Offering leadership development support for the U.S. Military, Chick-fil-A, Auburn University, Chevron, Kilgore Construction, and many other organizations

Are you in the USA? We will come to you! Checkout our "2021 Special Offer" below.

If you're willing to invest in your team, we are too. What do we mean?

What we will do…

We’ll provide 200 (any combination) of our five Blue-Collar Leadership? Series books (or choose from any of our 31 titles) to you at NO COST. WE’LL ALSO PAY ALL OF OUR EXPENSES to travel anywhere in the USA to conduct up to 2 hours of on site leadership development training or speaking for any size group at any level. We are also happy to train/speak virtually if you prefer that option.

What you must do…

Invest in your team. Take advantage of our “Special Offer” reduced speaking fee of ONLY $3,600, which happens to be the exact cost of the 200 books. Distribute the 200 books to your blue-collar workforce, those who lead them, and those who support them. Note: Our speaking fees normally range from $5,000-$20,000 in the USA.

Call Mack Story at 334-728-4143 and make it happen!