We are paid to think in today’s economy, let’s equip them to do just that. The tools and information don’t need to be specific to any particular job or industry, as each person will glean from it what they need to answer the questions they have been having or solve the problem they are facing. An easy way to equip your employees is to source great books, audios or videos that they have access to and are required to consume on a regular basis.
Empower: Empower your organisation to make decisions, on all levels. In the industrial age, managers were the ones making the decisions and their subordinates were just to get the work done. However, in the information age an organisation can take advantage of the knowledge and skillsets of people at all levels. Quite often it is those workers that are on the frontline that come up with the most ingenious ideas because they are in the thick of things. When an employee has to sit around and wait for their manager to make a decision, it slows production and costs the organisation time and money. Have you ever visited a hotel and were not entirely pleased with something about your stay? You might express your concern to the nice folks at the front desk, however how they handle it will determine whether they have been equipped with the right tools and empowered to take action to service you, the customer. For a busy hotel, it would become very slow and tedious to have every concern taken to the manager. Instead, the staff have been equipped with tools and empowered to offer incentives to the dissatisfied guest. It creates a sense of ownership and pride with the employees as they are empowered. Much like entrepreneurs taking pride in their own company.
Engage: Those engaged are enthusiastic and take action. It is alarming the number of employees in the workforce that are disengaged. Disengaged employees can be damaging to an organisation as they consume more sick days, monopolize supervisors’ time, have more on-the-job accidents, account for more quality defects and cause a higher turnover rate. When you develop a leadership culture, it is necessary to understand what is motivating your employees and how can that be tied into their daily activities. Most people come to work to merely be compensated and yet they are really just living for the weekend or those couple of hours after work where they can pursue their passions and really put their top level efforts in. Take an interest in your employees to find out what their passions are and look for ways to incorporate or tie those activities to their current position or another position within the company. Employees will become more satisfied and engaged with their work if they find value or meaning in it. Does your company have a vision or cause that is meaningful to the employees and that they can buy in to? Are they a correct fit in the position they are in? Are they appropriately rewarded and recognized for positive behaviours? Do they have realistic goals that grow the company and allow them to stretch themselves? An employee who is engaged and motivated is happier at work, excited to come into work in the morning and stay late, feels a purpose in their work and produces at a higher level and quality. They will be your biggest asset and promoter in the community.
To transform your organisation, start with transforming the individuals. You cannot have a great organisation without great people. In Alan Loy McGinnis book, Bringing Out the Best In People, he quotes a CEO answering why they are in business and the CEO replies, “I am in business to grow people - people who are stronger, more autonomous, more self-reliant, more competent. We make and sell at a profit things that people want to buy so we can pay for all this.” How do you view your organisation? The employees? Are they just another number? Or are they your actual business? What if you viewed those in your organisation as that CEO viewed them where your product or service is just a way to fund the transformation of your employees into successful people, into people that they can look in the mirror and are proud of what they see and the organisation they have invested their lives in to.
Invest in your people. Build great people. Create a culture of leadership. That is transformation.
That is leaving a legacy!
Alex Stiehl is a Leadership Factory Black-Belt and functions as a leadership consultant for LIFE Leadership, a World-Class leadership development organization. He mentors directing and indirectly with some of the worlds top leadership experts.
Leadership