In looking for the GENUINELY happy, positive people, the ones whose glass is always half full, we have learned that happiness attracts happiness. So the key to leveraging Disney inspired service principles is coming armed with delighted people by your side. But here’s the thing about sparking joy:
Happiness is an elusive goal. Most all of us want to be happy people, but true happiness is not an on-off switch. It’s not something you can train or force.
Happiness comes naturally to people that are predisposed to happiness. It’s like their hearts are happy most (not all) of the time.
Leaders should be on the lookout for those special people, ALWAYS. The ones who radiate joy from the inside out with seemingly little effort are the types of employees you want on your team because they are naturally and genuinely inspiring to those around them.
People predisposed to happiness are tailor made for service. These people transform the basic signals of happiness, such as smiling through a greeting or an upbeat demeanor, into inspired experiences both internally and customer-facing. They don’t just give up on their customer or their coworker. They validate fundamental service principles in a way that no employee training seminar ever could because they wholeheartedly believe in the message.
Remember, most customers can spot a dishonest and forced demeanor instantly, which means that service principles rooted in happiness fall short with employees who aren’t truly happy on their own. Rather than training indifferent employees to become more pleasant, lean on your naturally happy folks to shape, design, and inspire a culture of happiness authentically within your teams.