Creating lasting change is the art and science of empowering others to get the job done. Efforts bring huge payoffs as you:
Ӣ give your people a clear sense of what the organization stands for, where it is headed and what they must do to help it succeed;
Ӣ know what a recent Inc. magazine survey revealed as the single most important long-term motivator for employees; and
Ӣ understand that when people know how they are expected to behave, they can do their work without being told.
Southwest Airlines, Costco, Tyson Foods and Best Buy have all achieved great success through empowering people and viewing them as assets. They train their staffs using a philosophy that gives people a clear sense of what the organization stands for, where it is headed and what they must do to help it succeed.
A recent study reported in the Academy of Management Journal concluded that organizations emphasizing a long-term strategy, extensive communication and acceptance of their vision by employees are most likely to be successful.
An Inc. Magazine survey revealed that the single most important, long-term motivator for employees was “a sense of mission, vision and values.” This concept actually placed ahead of raises, performance bonuses and profit sharing.
The mission defines the purpose of the organization, the reason everyone comes to work. Every employee should be able to answer:
Ӣ What products and services do we provide?
Ӣ Who are our customers?
Ӣ What do our products and services do for our customers?
Ӣ What makes us unique?
The vision describes the desired future for the company and requires the ability to imagine a better situation. An effective vision must engage people”™s emotions and provide meaning to their work.
Core values help people determine what”™s right and wrong. They tell everyone what is important, and how they should behave, solve problems, and treat others. In “Leading Outside the Lines,” authors Jon R. Katzenbach and Zia Kahn state that, “Productive relationships develop through long hours, shared space and collective frustrations.”
Although most organizations have those three ingredients they fail to make their philosophies easy to understand and implement. People have difficulty absorbing complex missions, visions and core values. Consider these:
”¢ Apple, “the ultimate user friendly computer.”
”¢ L.L. Bean”™s slogan is, “100% satisfaction in every way.”
Trust and praise are key. Organizations that have created and instilled a philosophy must now establish a positive climate in which employees want to come to work and give everything they”™ve got. If you trust and praise your people, most will meet your expectations. The Academy of Management studies show that 97 percent of them will reward your faith.
But trust can only succeed once you”™ve established and communicated your mission, vision and core values. Only when people know how they are supposed to behave, can they do their work without having to be told.
Equally important is an incentive system that ties rewards to performance. Empower your people by communicating your organizations philosophy and why what they do is so important. Praise and recognize their work as it helps accomplish goals and remember to get out of their way.
Questions for discussion:
Ӣ How well have we communicated our purpose, values, vision and mission to our employees, outside vendors and customers and how can we do even better?
Ӣ Have we empowered our people with the training needed so they have the skills to do their jobs better than any of our competitors?
Joe Murtagh is The DreamSpeaker, an international keynote speaker, meeting facilitator and business trainer. For questions or comments, Joe@TheDreamSpeaker.com, www.TheDreamSpeaker.com or call (800) 239-0058.
