Being The Change You Want
photo by keela84
ChangeThis has posted another excellent set of presentations this month. One that deeply struck a chord is Flow, Flee or Fight.
As always, it’s worth the full read, but for those leading teams and running companies there is a lot to be gleaned by reading between the lines.
- Engagement is fluid and ever-changing. People are constantly evaluating the level of effort they should exert. The outputs will typically match the inputs. When they feel appreciated and when they feel their work is valued and valuable they increase their effort level. This is not saying people are lazy. Just that they work by the Golden Rule.
- People are present, but not there. Most of your workforce shows up every day and does what is expected of them. But most have a lot more to give. Your job is to extract that available effort. To do that you have to remember that effort is like a tap and you’re not in control of when it flows. You can only make sure that everything is in place for the tap to work. One place to start is by assigning work that may be just over the head of your employee and make yourself freely available to support.
- Change and disagreement is good. Often, those who push back are actually engaged. They push because they care (not always, but give the benefit of the doubt). So be cognizant of how you handle disagreement. Create the structure that gives people the ability to push back against the status quo. It’s your job to listen and figure out what is best for the company. Sometimes it’ll be necessary to have people move on, but having the value system in place so that people can voice what isn’t working for them is crucial. As is having the system in place to end the disagreements and get back to work.
Following the golden rule never hurts. If you start to treat people as you’d like to be treated and start listening to what they say, but also for what their actions are saying then you’ll be in a better position to harness effort and channel the ‘negative’ energy into something positive.
Related posts:
- Engagement: Take the First Step
- What Employees Want From Jobs
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