Sharma tells employees to link job with touching lives
Author, inspirational speaker says OMNI has vision
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Recently Roderick Benns spoke with Robin Sharma, one of the foremost inspirational speakers and authors in the world. Robin and OMNI will soon embark on a working relationship with one another. Here, Robin shares his thoughts with OMNIway readers about his vision for OMNI teammates and the organization.

OMNIway: I understand you only work with organizations and leaders when you feel there is a values fit. What do you see in OMNI that will make for a compatible relationship?

Robin: In OMNI, I see a company with a visionary leader and a powerful mission that is centred around improving the quality of peoples' lives. My early sense is also that OMNI is a very proactive organization that seizes opportunities, as opposed to being reactive like so many enterprises.

OMNIway: What is your hope for OMNI as it embarks on this journey with you? What is your hope for its residents?

Robin: My hope is that OMNI will make great strides towards its commitment to being a world-class organization, an organization that others in the same market space will be benchmarking. My role is to assist the leadership of OMNI to fully develop the highest performance potential in each and every one of OMNI’s teammates.

OMNIway: What is the greatest obstacle for people when they first begin reflecting on who they are, at their core?

Robin: The greatest obstacle is past programming. Each and every one of us runs our own internal story of who we are and what we can do. Some of these stories say ‘I can’t shine too brightly because I don’t have enough education or I didn’t have the right childhood.’ Other stories say ‘don’t take too many positive risks or else you will suffer the pain of failure.’

Our stories keep us small, both professionally and personally. Once we pay more attention to our stories, new awareness is created and awareness precedes new choices. With new choices, our lives begin to look different.

OMNIway: What do you see as integral for people to understand and accept before they can become increasingly self-actualized in their work and home life?

Robin: It’s very important to understand that greatness as a human being is not reserved for the special few, but is the birthright of every single one of us. That’s not motivational language but a timeless truth. Each and every one of us is hardwired to shine more brightly than we can even imagine. But our fears, our false beliefs and our limiting assumptions tell us that we can’t be truly great. And so we come to work every day and fail to perform at our highest level and raise our standards to where they should be.

OMNIway: In a profession like long-term care, what matters most as a prerequisite for success, both for managers and staff?

Robin: I think the most important consideration is for OMNI teammates to link the work they are doing with the lives they are touching. Great organizations are built around an emotionally-compelling cause. People want to come into work every day and feel...good about the work they are doing. The more the teammates of OMNI can make a direct link to – and remember – the many lives they’re touching on a daily basis, there will more likely be an emotional linkage to the powerful mission OMNI is on. Remember, great companies are built not just with people operating from their minds, but by people who are working with wide open hearts.