I recently had a conversation with a salesperson from a large Canadian organization. This person is held in relatively high regard in the company and has a very likable personality. She is driven to push herself physically through outside interests, trains frequently and is someone I consider to have internal drive.
I was telling her about my chosen career path and mission of helping companies achieve greater productivity by becoming better organizations; by correlating personal goals and aspirations with the companies thereby creating a fertile environment for creating passionate, dynamic and great teams. The response from this person was cautious. She'd been through lots of training courses and few made a lasting impact. Her advice was sound in insisting company managers and leaders take part and "buy-in" to the training or else it's a waste of time. If management doesn't embrace the training principles, follow the "prescription" and commit to change there really is no point to the training.
However what really left a lasting impact with me was when I probed a little deeper into why she wasn't enthusiastic around the topic of company training. The truth, she felt, was that "nobody really cares". She works in a hollow organization that has no "soul", no mission, and no purpose. She finds herself in an environment where initiatives are cast aside practically as soon as they start; where the management team is in a rut which has permeated throughout the organization. No one is exploring the controversial edges of issues when encountered, few people speak up, creative thought is not encouraged and the autocratic structure ensures voices from below are never really heard, let alone encouraged.
In this environment people carry on. They collect pay checks; put in their time and do enough, just enough. Some people are more committed and work 8 hour days while others work 4. Many question the meaning of their work and find very little value in what they do. On the other hand some employees, like the person I was talking to, felt the environment is fine. That her life is balanced, that she's getting to know the business more, hitting sales targets and in general has the job in a good perspective. She knows nothing will change, she knows nobody really cares and is fine with that. She's not there to "boil the ocean" but rather for as long as it suits her current situation; as soon as that stops she'll move on.
This left a real impression with me. Many people are conditioned into thinking "life's not perfect", or "it could be a lot worse" which somehow gets translated into thinking "don't worry - be happy". These same people often experience swings in emotions where at times they feel content while at other times they feel that their lives are missing a deeper meaning and purpose. Time passes and from a personal growth perspective they're no further ahead and meanwhile your company is on a path to mediocrity, or worse.
If your organization is experiencing some of these symptoms your obligation, as leaders, is to address the root cause. If you suspect that there are issues around morale and motivation, or there is a lack of commitment and your teams are not performing at the level that you know they can then it's time to take a step back and address the problems. You need to take a systematic approach to uncover areas that need to be addressed which can vary by group, team and individual. Everyone must contribute along the way; a top-down directional approach not only won't work but more importantly it lets employees of the hook and fails to build their courage required to flush out the tough questions. The questions may be as mundane as the most basic around job description to the more inspirational around meaning and future growth potential.
Initiating this journey requires vision and confidence aided by a road-map outlining the logical progression of steps to get you there. You will confront heated debate and be forced to resolve conflict throughout the process but this is very good thing; it brings out creativity, innovation and passion. Completing the journey requires commitment to change and discipline. The results are huge - you will transform your organization into an energized productive workplace and the best part is everyone on the bus will be wholly committed.
Copyright: Craig Rennick 2010
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