Workforce engagement is a hot topic these days. The Great Resignation has impacted business in every industry. It is hard to find talent, and it is hard to keep talent. At the center of all of this - people! People want to feel fulfilled at the end of the workday. They want to go home and feel like they've had an impact on the world in a positive way. Our Ignite Fulfillment Series: A Guide to Workforce Engagement is meant for Business Leaders and Business Owners. This guide will help you focus on the elements that are required to have an engaged, fulfilled team!
The Fulfillment Elements:
1. Have strong, healthy culture and ensure each team member lives it every day!
2. Put everything in place so your team can be ACING their roles!
3. Appreciate them, authentically, every day!
4. Know your team is human and treat them as such.
Some of the greatest minds in business and Organizational Health will tell you WHO FIRST! And that is true! Without people, you don't have a business! One of the main factors of a WHO First environment is culture.
I'll ask a Business Owner to describe the culture of their business... and often times they can’t. The typical answer is "It's good, healthy. I've got a good team." That is fantastic but subjective. It is hard to measure that! I even hear things like "everyone shows up on time" or "they get along"! Again, all great things BUT NOT culture.
Together, these three things make up the culture of your business.
Where You Are Going
Why You Are Going There
Who You Are As A Team
Where You Are Going
Simply stated this is the VISION of your business. Knowing and sharing the long-term vision of your organization can truly bring a team together. If your team is working toward a vision and know what it feels like to get there, they will work together to make it happen. Decisions will be easier, the drama will be less, and teams collaborate more!
Knowing where you are going will make the journey so much more fun.
Without a Vision, or some may call it a MISSION, you just take random steps forward. You aren't charting a path to something great. If you aren't clear about where you want to go, your team may create their own path. When separate paths are created, dysfunction can set in. On the other side of the coin, they will just standstill. Standing still is not fulfilling. It's boring, not fun, and not motivating! When you are standing still in your career, you start to find ways to fill the void. Dysfunction sets in here too.
Without a mission, you will be managed by your problems
Why You Are Going There
Simon Sinek says "Start with Why." Jim Collins says understand your Core Purpose. We say "If you don't know why you are climbing, why should anyone want to help you get to the top?"
Hint: Your WHY isn't to make a profit! Profit is an outcome of living in your purpose. Your WHY, or purpose, is so much greater than you think it is. It is nobler. It has a huge impact. And your purpose, as the owner, is the business's purpose. That purpose will fundamentally make the world better. Your team needs to know this purpose. Their personal purpose should align, somehow, to the business's. They should feel as though their work is helping them make an impact.
The Garbage Collector is keeping us healthy.
The Bank Teller is helping generations save.
The General Contractor is building a legacy.
The Truck Driver is keeping America moving.
Purpose is magical. When you live in purpose, the world seems to be a better place. Your impact is positive. Your outlook is happy.
When your team is aligned to the purpose, they will leave every day knowing they made a difference. They will know the work they did helped the world be better!
Remind them of the purpose often. Start every meeting or end every day with a recap. Don't let anyone forget that they make a difference!
Who You Are As a Team
The last piece of your culture is your Guiding Principles, or as most know them, Core Values. A handful of measurable principles that everyone can hold each other to, ensuring that the team is who they say they are. Core Values define the team and who they are collectively. They set expectations and hold each other to a high standard of excellence. You can be from different sides of town, or even different countries, but still, share the same guiding principles.
Knowing who you are as a team can help you collaborate and define goals. It can ensure that everyone is aligned when a challenge arises, and limits drama. Core Values are the center of who you are as a team.
Bringing it all together.
Knowing who you are, why you are on the journey, and where you are headed, is your culture. If you want your team to be engaged and fulfilled this is where you start. Make sure they live your Core Values; they want to be on the journey with you and know their impact will be grand!
As the business leader, it is your job to remind them of the Core Values, Purpose, and Vision. Say it every day. In the reviews, ask them simple questions to ensure they are trending in the same direction.
By the way: The Core Values rarely change. The Purpose never changes. The Mission will take a long time. Get really comfortable with them. You'll be talking about them a lot!
If you want to learn more, check out the remaining three elements to Ignite Fulfillment or go to www.heightenedleaders.com. Start a conversation!