When Opportunity Knocks Will You Be Ready?

Rebuilding An Empowered Business

When Opportunity Knocks, Will You Be Ready?

Empower Consulting Group Newsletter

2010.1

As the economy shows signs of improvement, it's time to assess the situation and prepare for a brighter future. Business leaders, customers and employees alike have changed their expectations of the economy. We hear and see in the media messages about slow to moderate growth and a long recovery. Companies are trying to rebuild sales and profitability with existing and often fewer staff members.

This pressure to do more with less causes a mix of emotions in the workplace. People who have survived layoffs feel grateful to be employed, yet they are still unsure about the future. With fewer workers to get the job done, many employees are working under much more stressful circumstances and still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The challenge for leaders today is to move people beyond fear and uncertainty and focus on rebuilding for the future.

Harnessing the Power of People
As leaders we need to remember the heart and mind of the company is encompassed in the hearts and minds of the workers within the organization. We must understand connecting with those aspects of the human spirit is what is required to move workers from a fearful and uncertain state to high performance.

In addition to talent, skills and abilities, humans have aspirations, hopes and dreams. While many leaders might insist that employees should be happy to have a job right now, that sentiment isn't what drives high levels of performance. Having a good relationship with your team, feeling secure, trusted, recognized for your work; and feeling confident you can deliver outstanding results is what drives employees to exceed expectations.

When employees experience these conditions in their work environment, they report higher levels of work passion, which translates to increased productivity and a commitment to ride out the storm.

Leaders need to take a hard look at whether they have the right people in the right seats on the bus. It's about making sure the skill and job level match. Great leadership is recognizing the best people for the job and creating an environment that positions them for success. It's also about diagnosing and treating underperformance.

Right Vision + Right Culture + Right Team + Right Action =
High Performance

It's our job to get people focused and working on the right things again. Vision and alignment play an important role in motivating people to higher levels of performance.

The Vision communicates how the company contributes to society, and it lets every team member know what role they play in achieving the goal. Engaged workforces know where the company is headed and care about making it happen.

Fundamentally, employees come to work to make money, be productive contributing members of society and to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Right now, many companies, leaders and employees alike are still so focused on survival. They have not begun to think about the future. Its time to shift to a higher level viewpoint focused on a shared and renewed vision that charts a course back to prosperity. People want to feel engaged and excited about the recovery.

So how do you shift your thinking and your team's thinking from a "survival" to "growth" mindset?

Define Reality - Acknowledge where you are today and communicate that to your team. People understand the challenges of today's economy. It's reassuring for them to have an honest and open conversation about the current state of affairs.

Set a Clear Direction - Chart a course. What are the plans for moving forward? Show your team where the organization is going. Will you boost market share? Increase productivity or sales? Leapfrog the competition? What's the action plan and how does the team make it happen? Getting their feedback as you develop the plan creates ownership and buy-in.

Manage People's Energy - To get people back on track, you must pay attention. Acknowledge their current feelings, give them hope and get them excited about the future. Schedule a one on one conversation with each of them. It's the quality of this interaction that will guide their energy. Be confident and compassionate. Effective listening and authentic conversations leave the employee feeling good about your commitment as a leader and the direction of the company as well.

The Power of Alignment - Once vision is set, focus on getting everybody aligned and moving in the same direction. Vision sets the course and alignment clarifies the objectives. Take a cold, hard look at the goals and identify the few that are crucial to help the organization move forward.