Where the hell are we going?

Does your team know where you’re taking them? Are you sure? One way to figure it out is to ask yourself, “What am I leading them toward? What’s the destination?” If you don’t know the answers right off the top of your head, think how confused your team is!

Confusion Fotolia_98319474_XSImagine trying to coach a team to win a new game you’ve invented without telling them the rules or the objective. In other words, without telling them how to win!

One reason Employee Engagement is so low (30% according to Gallup) is that we have turned into robots. We show up at work each day, do what we assume are the priorities and have no sense of whether we are moving closer to the team goal or further away – either because we’re not sure what the goal IS or we don’t see how our work supports it!

Just showing up and working is not a big enough game for your team and that’s why they are disengaged.

For too many employees, the daily goal is to get through the day without showing up on anyone’s radar screen. They do enough of the job to stay out of trouble but leave their inspiration and passion at home.

So what’s the answer? First, it’s important that:

  1. You know and completely understand what the team destination/goal is,
  2. You clearly communicate it to your team,
  3. You solicit their input for how to get there, and
  4. You are a walking, breathing scoreboard!

Over the next few weeks, we will take these one by one. For now, there is pre-work to do:

  • Identify the destination/goal to which you are leading your team
  • Why are you leading them there?
  • How does your destination/goal fit into the larger organization’s destination/goal?
  • How does it fit in with the overall Mission/Vision of the organization?

Your team is a reflection of your engagement. If you’re floundering, they will flounder. If you’re clear about where you’re taking them, they’ll be clear. If you’re engaged, they’re engaged.

Please don’t mistake engagement for working hard. In fact, when you are fully engaged in the work, it doesn’t feel hard at all. Engagement is about continually seeking ways to improve the end product, developing processes to achieve results faster and/or better, and growing your own skill set and knowledge base.

In short, Employee Engagement is about using the creative part of your mind every day. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore ways for you to do that and to encourage your team to do the same.

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