One of biggest mistakes leaders make is getting so wrapped up in achieving results, they forget to ensure that people are having fun along way. Indeed, having fun is a key ingredient of keeping employee morale up, and inspiring people to continue to work aggressively toward a common set of objectives.

We here at Leadership-Tools.com were recently discussing subject of inspirational leadership. Although our discussion took many detours into various subject areas, we found ourselves returning to basic concept of - having FUN in workplace.

As a leader, you might be thinking that "FUN" is important, but it cannot be paramount in terms of achieving results.

We challenge you, however, to not just think of having in terms of "webster" definition.

As a leader, YOU need to define fun, and communicate YOUR definition of fun to your team.

First, let us lay foundation with a bit of "FUN - philosophy" as we work toward our own definition of "Leadership Fun in Workplace".

We believe there is a huge difference between highly successful leaders and those leaders who are working incredibly hard, but not quite achieving same level of results. The difference, we believe, is in leadership styles. What do we mean?

The highly successful leader today facilitates, leads by example, encourages and participates with their team members to achieve TEAM results.

When entire team feels fully engaged and a part of process, then every team member takes personal pride in achieving results.

Word count: 700 =========================================== Summary: Reducing costs through wholesale layoffs may provide quick hits on balance sheets, but its clumsy blows can disrupt operations. Brent Filson shows operations leaders a surprisingly more effective way to achieve cost reductions as well as enhanced efficiencies. =========================================== Ringing Doorbells Without Howitzers by Brent Filson

Many operations leaders have been there, done that with re-engineering. And they report, in effect, that process is like ringing a doorbell with a howitzer shell.

Reducing costs through wholesale layoffs ostensibly tied to ultimate results provides quick hits on balance sheets, but its clumsy blows can raise hell with operations.

Operational results can be achieved consistently with precision and power not when people are taken out of organization but instead put back in.

"Putting people in" doesn't mean adding headcount but instead putting people into mix of vital factors that contribute to operations results — having power with people, not over people.

Just as we're supposed to use only a fraction of our brains' capabilities, so I'm convinced, working with businesses in major industries, that few organizations come close to achieving their potential operational results.

That's because many operations leaders ignore one of most important aspects of operational effectiveness: human heart.

When I speak of heart, I speak of that intuitive, emotional, feeling aspect of all of us.

No question: It's not just technology and equipment that drives operational success. It's employees. Clearly, they must be skilled and knowledgeable, but they also must be emotionally committed to their work. They must be motivated.

Yet most operational strategies and programs focus on rational not emotional/motivational considerations and so let great opportunities slip away.

To understand how quantum leaps in results can be achieved, far beyond re-engineering's capabilities, let's view operations three big drivers —— cost-reduction, productivity and efficiency — in terms of motivational factors.

Cost-reduction: Operations founder when they fail to achieve continuous cost-reductions. A leader of a world manufacturing organization told me, "One of my most tenacious leadership challenges is motivating employees to never stop getting costs out of our plants and processes."