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| Do You Lead to Create Lasting Energy in Your Teams? |
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As a leader, do you inspire energy that lasts in your teams to execute your vision? There is a definite communication gap between leaders and teams in terms of direction. A recent study indicated that 74% of leaders believed they provided clarity of direction – only 37% of their teams agreed! “The key to successful leadership has always been twofold: direction and energy. Direction without energy is futile, and energy without direction is chaos.” Dean Spitzer The bottom line is that the distinguishing feature of a leader is the ability to inspire the energy of others to execute their strategy. Studies have shown that the paradox facing leaders today at all levels in the organization – on one side, our organizational performance only runs at about 63% at the best of times (Harvard Business Review), and, then, we also know that 85% of actual execution is due to the productivity of our people. The relationship seems obvious yet employee engagement has been declining for the past two years. In Canada, we have a huge “enrolled” component (show up for work, do what is in front of us but nothing more, would like to do more but no direction) in our workforce. Almost 45% of our employees (Towers Perrin 2010) show up for work, may actually be happy, but do not contribute as much as possible – even though they would like to. Further research shows that most employees have the capacity on average to be 23% more productive. How do leaders connect the dots to create higher engagement and productivity for greater performance? As leader, you want teams to focus their energy as productively as possible on an ongoing basis to advance your vision and strategic initiatives. In the short term, even negative motivation through threats and consequences can generate action in teams. However, negativity does not result in ownership or investment so action stops as quickly as it starts. No improvement in engagement or sustainable productivity will result from command and control. Similarly, many of the positive motivational trends such as compensation linked to results can only create short term results. The more complex our work the less likely more money will increase sustainable engagement and performance shifts. How do you inspire sustainable energy? The key is communication. To be effective in creating sustainable energy in your organization, as leader you need to communicate consistently and clearly on five vital pieces.
Yes, your challenge is time. You have so many demands on your time it is difficult to find space to speak to your teams. They are also adults, how many times do you really need to say it? Shouldn’t they be taking initiative on their own once they hear it? It is also difficult to prioritize when there are so many pulls on the business – we all need to multi-task! All valid comments – none really cut it. Having 15 priorities is like having none at all. 15 minutes of effective meetings and communications typically saves 4 hours of wasted time. To get a return, invest first. The buck starts with you – to gain sustainable positive energy raise engagement to execute better, your teams need direction and communication on a clear and consistent basis. Fit the five pieces together for your team.
Values Fundamentally, we all want meaning in our work. Meaning starts with values. Do you communicate to your people the values that guide the organization? More importantly, have you provided examples of what the values look like in action (the behaviors)? Do you apply these values to business decisions and recognize people living the values? Clarify the five key values for your business (include your people in defining them), provides clear descriptions of how the values look in actual application, and share them with your teams regularly – keep them in front of you as you work through strategic planning and decision-making. Share them over and over again.
Vision and Priorities Where are we going and what do we need to do to get there? Uncertainty undermines engagement. People worry about what the future will be and how they will fit into it. Providing a clear and compelling vision of the future for your organization and the critical strategies that will support the realization of that bigger picture are essential to connecting people to their contribution to success. Can your executive team members clearly articulate the vision and the five core strategic drivers? Would your sales teams be able to outline them? What about your executive assistant? All your people need to know what is most important. Put your leadership vision for the organization down on one page. Outline the key initiatives that define success – no less than three and no more than five. Communicate the vision of the bigger future, the core strategies, and how people play a part in achieving the results over and over again to all levels of your business. People need to know the priorities so they know where to invest their energy.
Progress Nothing differentiates a leader who inspires energy to execute from one who doesn’t than how they use measurements. Measuring is how great athletes continually improve to become the greatest. We love to be measured – it tells us how we are doing, where we are going and how we can be better. Your team does not need a 16-page spreadsheet to measure and report on their activities. What your team needs is a clear and simple one-page scorecard that identifies the most important actions and results tied to the key strategic initiatives. Eight simple measures can move and maintain focused momentum. Update the progress on a regular basis (monthly) and reflect on the achievements, on what worked and what got in the way, and talk about the next steps to keep the forward movement. The discussion around the scorecard creates a living strategy.
Building Competence When your team continues to learn, the opportunities for them and your business grow exponentially. Leaders worry about potentially losing talented team members after they complete an expensive learning program. Actually, the statistics show that higher turnover exists where investing in learning is not valued. Have your team members complete an annual personal business plan which includes development and contribution objectives. The personal business plan is not just about the results for their position in your organization but about how they want to continue to grow. What do they need to learn to grow? Growth and development are core components of engagement and shows that the organization values the people enough to invest in them.
Giving Recognition They were a driven team. High performance and long hours were the creed. The leader was respected and revered. Yet, the annual employee turnover was double the national average. The reason was that there was a constant push to achieve results and outcomes. There was never any time to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments. There was no stopping along the way to enjoy the journey. People loved their leader but got burned out and left. We can never underestimate the value of recognizing our team’s work. Being recognized is one of the most important human needs – we need to be appreciated. Compensation and competition are great motivators but recognition is the third piece that stabilizes achievement. Take time each month to recognize the progress and achievements of your team. Provide regular feedback for people on their work – both the good and the bad so they know how to be better. Slow down just a little to see the positive focus for your business. People stay and invest more when they are appreciated.
Creating Energy and Execution Use your communication to clarify what is most important, what is valued, where to focus, how to grow and that you recognize the contribution people make. Do this over and over again – we need to hear it on average eleven times before we get it! Invest your time and energy in communicating the message consistently and your team will invest their energy and become more engaged on a sustainable basis to execute on your vision.
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