"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
~ John Wooden
"Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile."
~ Gary Ryan Blair
"Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning."
~ Gloria Steinem
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In Daniel Pink's new book 'DRiVE' (author of 'A Whole New Mind' and 'Free Agent Nation') he writes about what truly motivates people. This may be especially timely for managers seeking new ways to engage people as we move out of the recession.
The good news is what motivates us won't cost your organization a lot of money since for the most part we are motivated intrinsically, says Pink. People are happiest and most productive when the following three needs are met: autonomy, mastery and purpose. (There is one caveat - external motivators (rewards) work for routine tasks that don't demand creative thinking). Simply, people want to be given the chance to do meaningful work and achieve their potential without a lot of interference. Pink asserts that the traditional carrot-stick approach to motivating people causes them to lose initiative and confidence in their abilities over time. People develop a sort of 'helplessness' forcing companies to continually escalate reward programs.
Organizations need to spend the time to create environments that allow these innate needs to develop. Enhanced performance and productivity will naturally follow. When people are engaged in work that aligns with their values, interests and skills and are supported by a true coach-manager, they are self-motivated and will work hard to meet your expectations.
Enjoy this issue of talent talk. Your feedback and comments are always appreciated.
Cheers!
Rebecca |
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When an artist sets out to create a painting, a sculpture or any type of art form, they start by having a vision of what the masterpiece will ultimately look like. They take the time to focus on the feeling the piece will call upon from those that gaze at the final results. They consider the tools, the colors, the materials necessary to bring their art to life and deliver meaning to the admirer. Their original thought of the piece might have to come to them in many ways. They transform these ideas and thoughts to the art piece via a vision on what the end product will look like.
This same process of a vision of what the end result looks like applies not only to the artist but also to businesses and people that make up the business. At some point in time every business started with its owner having an idea and then putting together a vision and a plan to realize the objective. As the business market changed, the owner adjusted the plan to remain current and provide new ideas and products to the customer.
The current business conditions are ever changing. Customer requirements are changing. Employee requirements are changing. Technology is changing. We are in the midst of an ever evolving information revolution. These and many other reasons must prompt each of us to revisit our company and personal vision. Make adjustments to it so the future results we picture in our minds are realized.
A vision by definition is a mental image produced by the imagination. As we apply this to business and personal life, our vision is the picture of what the business or person will look like at some point in the future. It is the visual image and supporting words that paint the picture for the business and its employees as to what it will be in the future. Consider your vision as the statement placed in the headlines of a future business publication acknowledging the results, the success of your company or yourself. What do you want it to say about you or your organization? How do you want to be recognized? How do you want to describe your potential?
This central focus of a vision should define for your company and yourself that you can succeed and you will know when you arrive. The vision keeps you on track while knowing when to change tracks or add a new one. The vision should be stated positively and in the past tense, as if you had already achieved the potential identified as the "Ideal State." It should create excitement and commitment.
While all of this may appear to be common sense and sounds reasonable, the challenge is to create your vision and communicate it to your organization and yourself. This communication and support of the vision will demonstrate your true commitment.
Take some time over the next week to create a vision for your business if you don't already have one. If you have one already, test it against what is really going on in the business. Are you achieving your "Ideal State?" Do you need to re-kindle the commitment, the passion? Be proactive, be positive, be an artist - go paint that picture of your future ideal state.
~ Copyright ©2010 JKL Associates (313) 527-7945
If you have any questions about this article, or about how we can help you with your current business needs, contact us at 905-257-7227 or E-mail: info@leadership-insight.com. |
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Things to Remember About Planning
Vision - Your vision statement is your inspiration, the framework for all your strategic planning.
Provides direction - a broad statement of end results
Values - Establish four to six core values from which the organization would like to operate. Consider values of customers, shareholders, employees and the community.
Determine rightness of the direction for decision making
Decision Making - The foundation for business today is provided through values and value-based decisions and behaviors. Business values define the beliefs, standards, and acceptable behaviors.
Clearly defined values simplify decision making
Mission - The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a sense of direction, and guide decision-making.
Clearly states the steps needed to achieve your vision and how you're going to get there
Critical Goal Categories - Critical goal categories serve as the foundation for implementing your plans, they focus on building upon your strengths and identifying and overcoming any limitations.
What must happen to achieve your mission
~ Gary Sorrell. Copyright protected worldwide |
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Use Job Benchmarking To Avoid Unnecessary Costs
Most companies could do a lot better when it comes to hiring employees that can make the company better. Too often, somebody leaves a role for another position and the human resources department is told that they need to hire somebody else. At that point, they start sorting through a number of resumes to try and find somebody to fill the position.
There are a number of problems with this process. First of all, the people that are going through the resumes probably don't know that much about the position. For all they know, they might be weeding out some of the best possible candidates and sending the wrong people on to the interview process.
Even for the hiring manager, assessing candidates is not their primary job function. It's probably something that they do every once in a while and they are likely doing it at a time when they find themselves short-staffed. They have other things on their mind, and they can be biased by the fact that they want to fill the role quickly and get on with other things.
If they talk to somebody for an hour and the person suitably answers the interview questions they may end up getting the job. That person might have the best work ethic and might be very personable. They might also be completely mismatched to the job and find that they soon get frustrated when they're trying to meet expectations that they don't even understand.
If a company were to use job benchmarking to first identify the accountabilities of a position, it's going to pay huge dividends in the long run. Hiring companies need to look at the bigger picture and identify exactly what a particular job function needs to do. They need to identify how that fits into the workings of the entire company.
Once a list of the key accountabilities has been produced, the company can go about finding individuals that can fulfill those accountabilities. It means that the person they hire is more likely to have success in that role because they match the role better. It's not enough to be able to impress somebody in an interview. They need to have inherent behaviors that will predict success for them specifically for their job function.
It might seem apparent that you need to hire better people in order to have a better company. Many companies don't realize how much of an impact those hiring decisions make in the long run. Employees that either don't understand or are not fully capable of filling the requirements of their position tax every part of a company.
They will take longer to train, and they will be less effective once they are trained. A human resources department that has to constantly be going through the process of hiring new people because an employee was frustrated with their position can cost a staggering amount.
Not only will the poorly chosen employees create the need for more employees, they will frustrate the ones around them. Managers will leave because they can't get the job done and other employees will feel the pressure from having to try and fulfill their own roles and somebody else's. Start with job benchmarking and stop these profit robbing hiring decisions from affecting your company.
~ © Copyright protected, all rights reserved worldwide. Written for us by author Gary Sorrell |
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