The
Potential of People
Margaret
Mead is credited with the statement, "Never doubt that
a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the
world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
This
is a very powerful message. And when this thought is applied
to a company's mission, it will strengthen the workforce many
times over. Every organization wants to provide the best product
or the greatest customer service in their industry. Reaching
for the stars is the vision of just about every business owner.
Sharing that vision with employees is a much more difficult
task. Here are a few ways to ensure employees share the company
vision.
Stress
Behaviors Over Technical Skills. What are the behavioral
traits of people you want employed in specific positions in
your organization? For example in management jobs, do you
value innovation over delegation? If so, hire someone with
more creativity. Is your workforce more customer service focused
than oriented toward internal tasks? Identify the behaviors
of the successful people in your organization. Of course,
employees must have the basic technical skills to perform
the job. However, technical skills can be taught much easier
than behaviors.
Set
Stretch Goals and Monitor Progress. Anyone can achieve
simple tasks. It takes a high performer to accomplish the
more challenging goals and objectives. The key to the successful
completion of stretch goals is frequent follow up to keep
the employee on track. Make adjustments as business needs
change. If it is later found that the targets are too taxing,
reevaluate them and agree to new terms.
Ruin
the Routine. As people perform the same job and the
same task, it can easily become routine and boring. Keep the
energy up by giving employees new assignments that are outside
their normal duties and responsibilities. You may be pleasantly
surprised at the results. Be cautious not to penalize these
people if they don't perform well. Be prepared to work with
the individual to bring them back to their area of comfort.
Provide
Appropriate Rewards. Rewarding good performance reinforces
the desired behavior. It could be tickets to the symphony,
local sporting events or simply a gift certificate to their
favorite store. If the accomplishment is significant enough,
the reward could be a cash bonus. But whatever it is, make
it appropriate to the accomplishments.
Never
underestimate the potential of people. NASA recently
had two successful missions to Mars, which were accomplished
through the hard and detailed work of a number of people.
The people at NASA actually are reaching for the stars. They've
already reached another planet.
What
can your people accomplish?
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