Get your teams working brilliantly!

The success of your business is largely determined by the commitment, productivity and motivation of the people who work for you. Yet it could be that up to 60% of your employees, are underutilized in their roles at work. Creating a culture of excellence is essential to growth and achievement of your long term goals. Here's our thoughts on how to make this happen...

1. Stop demotivating people!
A research study published in Harvard Management Update (January 2006) showed that the majority of employees are very motivated when they start out and after less than a year, motivation drops dramatically. The main reason cited? The management style and overall behaviour of their managers. So as a business leader your job is not to motivate anyone - this is an intrinsic drive individual to each person. All you have to do is make sure you are not demotivating them. So here are some thoughts...

• Set a purpose which inspires people and goes beyond profit and making money
• View your employees as a group of customers
• Tell your employees what they "want" to know not just what they "need" to know
• Address poor performance - there is nothing more demotivating to someone working their pants off than a colleague who does nothing and gets away with it!
• Recognise people for a job well done - praise does not breed complacency it re-inforces success.

2. Be clear about what you want from people
Involve people in defining the sort of business or team they want to be and the targets they want to set for themselves. Focus on outcomes that are essential to meeting your inspiring business purpose and make sure everyone is clear on what these are. Understanding the level of performance required gives people a sense of achievement when they meet it.

Set specific goals in 90-day increments - this enables you to monitor progress and experience wins on a routine basis.

Share, share and share. You can't overcommunicate your expectations.

3. Define repeatable models
Whether looking at your sales and marketing strategy or your core business model, defining repeatable processes which people can understand and work to will improve performance. Many people shy away from processes fearing that these will kill creativity, constrain people and drown the organisation in bureaucracy. Indeed this will happen when the process becomes the end point rather than a clearly defined structure for doing what works best, and when you don't involve people in defining how they do it best.

Think about it. If you have a sales person who consistently over achieves his sales targets by 25%, would you not want to understand how he does this and get others to follow the repeatable steps?An effective process improves each individual’s performance by establishing a common base of best practice for everyone. It also enables greater visibility of activities that work and don’t work and how people are delivering against expectations.

4. Train people
Whenever I work with organisations who want to improve performance I ask the same questions - Do you know what skills and competencies are needed to meet your business purpose? Do your people have the skills, knowledge and competencies to achieve your business purpose? For many the answer is well...not really.

Many organisations don't understand the nature or purpose of training. There is a plethora of research supporting the ROI of training. A US Department of Education survey in 2003 showed very interesting results - increasing an individual’s educational level by 10% increased productivity by 8.6%; increasing an individual’s work hours by 10% increased productivity by 6.0%; and increasing capital stock by 10% increased productivity by 3.2%

Training should be used to enable people to obtain new skills and knowledge, re-enforce existing skills and knowledge, be aligned to the business purpose and be measured.

5. Build resilience through Coaching
Consider ongoing coaching to drive performance. External coaches are often used by high performance organisations to help embed behaviours and attitudes over time. There are various individual and group coaching solutions available which can help to achieve the desired skills and competencies for high performing teams.

Coaching can help push people beyond their limits, expand skills, build confidence, maintain focus and address the real barriers to achievement - e.g. limiting beliefs, motivation and commitment. Coaching enables a person to review what works and what doesn't work for them. When it comes to world-class performance, resilience and self-discipline are just as important as mastery of the technical skills in question.

Discover your business purpose

If you are setting up a business or are already in business and not sure that you have a clear purpose here are some thoughts on how to discover it. We say discover, because the "why you exist" is inherent in your organisation. You may not be aware of it or you may be painfully aware of it but have moved away from your core purpose due to market, competitive or financial pressures.

1. Involve everyone in your business

Often the pressure to make money, find new customers and stay in business can blur the very purpose of your organisation.  The people working at the coal face, who deal with customers or handle your products and services on a day to day basis can have a clearer view of what the business is about. In addition your people are an inextricable part of your current and future business. Involving them in discovering your business purpose ensures alignment, commitment and motivation to deliver it. 

2. Ask some questions

·         What do we stand for?

·         Why do we exist?

·         What change do we want to make? (to people, the market, the planet, society)

·         What problem do we solve?

·         What values inspire the way we work?

·         What do we want to be remembered for?

·         What are we proud of? 

3. Articulate it emotionally

There will be a theme that emerges from asking questions. Write it down. Make it as emotionally engaging as possible.

4. Test it

·         Does it have substance and meaning? 

·         Is it inspiring to those inside the company?

·         Will it be valid 100 years from now?

·         Is it authentic to your company/brand?

5. Make it Live!
 

Many organisations have mission statements (essentially an expression of purpose). But if your mission statement sits on the wall, in the bottom draw of people’s desks, or is plastered on mugs and screen savers without being demonstrated in all that you do, it is simply a platitude. Organisations that really embrace their purpose don’t have to write it on the wall for people to remember. It is part of the very fibre of the organisation, implicit in activities and processes of the company and the behaviour of the people.  To get to this level everyone needs to continually focus on how their decisions, activity and contribution fit with the business purpose.  

You may be wondering - How is purpose different from value proposition? You are right in thinking they are inextricably linked. Your value proposition is the demonstration of the thing that you do best and the benefit that you deliver which solves a customer problem. The purpose of your business is the why behind your value proposition. You can therefore have 2 companies with the same or similar purpose but who deliver their value proposition in very different ways. 

Photo by: Gematrium

The stone cutters

Whilst writing this months newsletter I remembered the old story of the stone cutters. A great metaphor for the importance of purpose.

A traveller came across three stonemasons hammering chunks of granite. To the first he asked “my dear fellow what is it that you are doing?”



The man continued his work and grumbled, “I am cutting stones.”

The traveller moved toward the second of the three and repeated the question. This time the man stopped his work, ever so briefly, and stated that he was a stonecutter. He then added “I came from the north to work but as soon as I earn ten quid I will return home.” The traveller thanked the second mason, wished him a safe journey home and headed to the third stonemason.

He asked the same question. The worker paused, glanced at the traveller and then looked skyward. He said “I am building a cathedral.” He continued, “I have journeyed many miles to be part of the team that is constructing this magnificent cathedral. I know how important it will be one day and how many people will find sanctuary and solace here. I know this because the Bishop once told me his vision for this great place. He described how people would come from all parts to worship here. He also told that the Cathedral would not be completed in our days but that the future depends on our hard work.” He paused and then said, “So I am prepared to be away from my family because I know it is the right thing to do. I hope that one day my son will continue in my footsteps and perhaps even his son if need be.”

"Cathedrals are incredible testaments to human endeavour. It is not only their grandeur or splendour, but the thought that they often took more than fifty years to build. Those who designed them, those who first worked on them, knew for certain that they would never see them finished. They knew only that they were creating something glorious which would stand for centuries, long after their own names had been forgotten.....

We may not need any more cathedrals but we do need cathedral thinkers, people who can think beyond their own lifetimes." Charles Handy

Have we forgotten our purpose in business?

Ask anyone what the purpose of business is and the first response you may hear is “to make money”. But profit can never be the “purpose” of your business. Profit, essential as it may be, is how you measure the success of your business purpose.  Purpose is all about the “what your business exists to do”.

Some of the greatest companies - both in terms of profitability and in terms of their contribution to the world – have purpose at the heart of their organisations which they live and breathe. Think about the likes of Disney (to make people happy), Ford (Change the world through automation), Dyson (Revolutionalise everyday design), Google (To organise the world’s information), 3M (To solve unsolved problems innovatively). Each of these consistently work to fulfil their core purpose.

A large part of our work is helping leaders connect with their business purpose to build stronger, more powerful and resilient organisations. Here we offer up some thoughts on the importance of purpose.     

1. Purpose helps you leap ahead

Connecting with purpose inspires leaders to leap forward and change the rules of their markets. Amazon is a great example of a company with purpose that continues to change the rules. Its purpose is to create a place to discover and buy anything centred on customer obsession and access to all.

This relentless drive to serve the customer has lead to a raft of firsts - one-click shopping, customer reviews, e-mail order verification. The philosophy is that “People should talk to their friends and family, not to their merchants. If a customer has to call us we have failed them”. So every part of the online experience is geared to making it easy to discover and buy anything.

Even new products such as Kindle fulfil this purpose. Rather than competing with iPad as a device, which focuses on hardware and apps, Kindle is all about media streaming.  It is a portal to Amazon’s cloud universe where users can store up to 20 GB of music for free on the company’s servers (or an unlimited amount of music bought from Amazon) and stream it freely.  Focusing on purpose has not only enabled Amazon to extend beyond buying and selling stuff, but has enabled them to change market fundamentals. 

2. Purpose leads to a happier, more engaged workforce

Helping your employees to engage in meaningful work and feel that they are doing something that matters can help them feel happier and more motivated. A University of Alberta study discovered that people who are able to find meaning and purpose in their work, and can see how they make a difference through that work, are healthier, happier and more productive employees. Urging employees to simply rethink their jobs was enough to drop absenteeism by 60 per cent and turnover by 75 per cent in the companies studied.

You may say that this all very well and good if you are doing interesting work, but what if you are stacking shelves or working on the factory assembly line. Many may define their purpose as being anything other than work! In fact in these instances connecting with purpose is even more important. I have the pleasure of currently working with a manufacturing company where meticulous attention to detail pervades the factory floor, with hours spent polishing, shaping, checking and calibrating to ensure that the finished product is a work of art. Why do they do this? Because the company’s purpose - lived by all - is to raise standards in their industry.

3. Purpose offers a foundation for clear decision making and action

Your purpose will enable you to make tough decisions. It gives you a barometer by which to assess opportunities and decide if they fit with where you want your business to go.

When Steve Jobs took over leadership of Apple in 1997 he killed off a number of high revenue, high profit parts of the business. People thought he was crazy but he had a clear understanding of what Apple stood for. These brave decisions enabled him to focus single-mindedly on the purpose of Apple turning it into the £480billion business that it is today, 15 times the size of Dell.

Importantly in large organisations, where effective decision making is needed at all levels, purpose can help keep people going in the same direction whilst being open to new opportunities. If everyone knows what the organisation is in business to do and is committed to it, then relinquishing control to your people becomes easier. When people understand the why, they can work out the what, when and how.  

4.  Purpose builds brands
The search for meaning is a fundamental part of human nature. At the heart of finding meaning is to connect with something that is relevant to you and provokes an emotional response.  A clear purpose, lived through every part of your business allows people to easily download why you exist. And it is the why that helps people connect what you do with their own values, beliefs and attitudes on an emotional level that enables people to have a powerful relationship with your brand.

With the enormous changes in how people consume and importantly create media (anyone can be a publisher today) it is even more important to ensure you know your business purpose and can demonstrate this, in order to be heard in an ever noisy market space.  

Photo by: KaneroadCul-de-sac

Ready for growth? 5 things to consider

There is a tipping point in any business, whether moving from start-up to going concern, from going concern to taking on staff or from single business to replication whereby you need to review and assess your business's readiness for growth. Here are 5 things to consider:

1. Do you have solid Foundations?

80% of the internal pain I see in organisations is due to leaders wanting to acquire new business without the appropriate systems in place to manage existing business smoothly. At each stage of growth you need to review your core processes – IT, HR, business development, customer service etc. Even a small start up needs to make consideration to these and make sure they operate effectively as growth diverts resources from core. You  need ensure that they are appropriate for the current delivery of services (i.e. without any pain points) and make an assessment of what would need to happen/ change to move to the next stage.

2. Is your value proposition clear?

Many organizations miss this part. Why? Because it takes time and it takes discipline. If you’re managing a project or enterprise, figure out what it is that you really do better than anyone else. Clearly understand what problem your service or product is solving. Figure out what’s important, what contribution you make and what you offer that others can’t. If 1,000 people can provide a service the way you do, it is going to be very hard to grow.

3. Is there a sound economic engine at the heart of your business?

This is all about having a clear and robust business model which defines how you deliver value to customers, and how you can organize your enterprise to best meet stakeholder needs and get paid for doing so. The business model determines your sustainability – your ability to deliver your organisations’ vision and mission and continue to deliver the benefits to the people you serve. Without a robust business model it is hard to scale up, be that through funding, investment or access to new customers and markets.

4. Do you have a learning culture?

Growth brings change and change brings stress to an organisation. The people within that organisation need to be in the mindset where change can happen with as few growing pains as possible. An organisation which has a learning culture (as opposed to a blame culture, a targets culture or an innovation culture) will stand a better chance of managing the change. A learning culture encourages experimentation, review and reflection, all of which are important in the change process.

  

5. Do you know where you want to go?

This is all about having a clear, inspiring and shared vision and strategy for growth. It’s about making choices over where you want to go, putting small steps in place which go in the right direction and being disciplined in thought and action so that you get where you are going.

Beyond Smart: 5 strategies to achieve team goals

Working with teams can be tricky. It is challenging enough to achieve your own goals let alone align a group of people with their unique motivations, beliefs, personal objectives and experiences to a single goal, and one which may not be at the top of their list of priorities.

Whilst we are advocates of setting SMART objectives as a means of achieving team goals, SMART is simply a structure for thinking about and planning your goals. It is not the whole story. And because it has been used as a blunt instrument in the management world the mere mention of the word can be met with groans of despair by teams across the UK.

Here are 5 things you need to do to help teams achieve your business goals in addition to SMART.

1.  Give people something worth being part of

Jim Rohn once said "You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming." You don't have to be the CEO to do this. Regardless of the size of your team or your level in the organisation you work with your team to set a vision that is meaningful, important and motivating. Generally – this is not going to be expressed as making more money, getting more customers or being number one.
If you can help people relate goals to purposein the work that they do then you will stand a better chance of keeping them engaged and focused on achieving their goals.

2. Your team has the answers, involve them

Involve people in goal setting and decision-making, particularly if they are on the front line, they have a significantly better perspective on what's really going on. Each person will bring a different perspective, experience, skill-set and knowledge to a particular problem.  Give everyone the chance to be heard. Listen intently, especially to the negative (yes some people are life's moaners, but the vast majority of negative feedback is valuable information about your business) and the quiet ones.

When goals are set from the top, with each manager setting goals for the next person down, then you may be setting your business up to fail. Goal setting like this leads to silo thinking, with each person only looking at their corner of the business at best and active sabotaging of your business goals at worst.

3. Start with what you want to have happen

What is the change that you want to make? What do you want to be different about the current situation? You should seek to describe the type of change and the number of changes in detail with you team. Really get into the detail of change. So instead of having a team goal to “develop a work plan by Q3”, your team may get to a goal such as “develop a simple, living plan, which makes it easy for others to understand what we do and work with us”. In this way your team will help you to define the benefits of the goal that will solve a particular problem.

It is also more motivating to focus on the benefits.  Research indicates that the more time you spend focusing on the benefit of the goal the more likely you and your team are to achieve it. ("Letting Good Opportunities Pass Us By: Examining the Role of Mindset during Goal Pursuit." Journal of Consumer Research: December 2010.)

This is the specific part of SMART taken to another level.  

4. Keep your goals alive

You set goals at the start of the year with or for your team, or at the start of a project and then you spend the rest of the year doing other “stuff”. By the time you get to the end of the year you open your bottom draw, pull out your goals and work out if you have met them or not. Sound familiar?

If something is important enough to be a goal make it visible to everyone. It keeps the goal top of mind for your team and it tells others of your intentions. In a number of research studies, going public was found to be motivating in helping people achieve their goals. (Self reinforcement effects: An artefact of social setting. Journal of applied behaviour analysis 1985).

Turn them into a living plan with mini-steps, timescales and measures and keep this somewhere visible too. 70-75% of people experience the world through their visually so bring your goals and plans to life. Use a variety of imagery, colour, fonts and media to bring your goals to life. Keeping your goals visible will also stimulate your team to review progress on a regular basis, but make sure you also allocate specific time to do this.

5.  Reward, reward, reward

How often do you tell people they have done well? Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly? We hear managers say they only praise when the team has done exceptionally well i.e. if they are simply doing a good job this is what they get paid for, so none necessary.

But praise and reward is exceptionally important in valuing people (especially when it is combined with the ability to challenge unacceptable behaviour). There is a correlation between praise and repeating desired behaviour. Research supports the use of external incentives such as encouragement and social approval in building internal motivation. (David Beswick, Management implications of the interaction between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic rewards. University of Melbourne).

Creating an environment of authentic reward is one in which people enjoy working. You may also want to consider letting the team determine how they would like to be rewarded for achieving certain sub-goals.  For each step the team or an individual takes in achieving your business goal, make sure you encourage and praise.

In need of some Wednesday Inspiration?

It's an oldie but a goodie from Teddie.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt

Ask different questions

In great organisations strategic planning is driven by the search for the right questions more than the search for the right answers. How do you know if you have achieved the optimal, preferred outcome unless you have exhausted all the questions, including the too difficult to answer, no-one talks about that particular problem, nothing will ever change in any case type of questions. But until you make the commitment to ask, you will never know if you are getting the best solutions.

Sometimes our brains need to be challenged in different ways; we need to see the world from different perspectives to make a leap forward. So...the next time you are planning or looking to improve, rather than asking - what's going wrong? What are the challenges? How can we do things differently? - try asking the following:

• If you were starting afresh what would you really want?
• What has not yet happened?
• What are you about to let go of?
• What hero will have inspired you?
• What outcome would you rather have?

You never know where it could lead you!

Are you having enough tough conversations?

In personal and professional life how often do we simply "let things slide... this time". Potentially because it is easier, we have too many other priorities, we are scared of conflict, don't want to hurt the other person or we kid ourselves that it is not such a big issue, really.

The problem is that this apathy can allow insignificant issues to fester and become real problems; problems that affect individual and team performance, and ultimately undermine your role as a leader.

Having tough conversations can be hard but how you approach it can make all the difference. Here's our top tips:

1. The starting point is your intention. Ask yourself, is addressing this issue in the best interest of the team, the organisation, the individual? If it is then be brave and have the conversation, regardless of the potential ramifications.

2. Be sure to challenge the behaviour (not the person) - so let them know what is working well, what they are good at, what you value in them. Then address the issue - make sure you can evidence it with examples.

3. Don't allow the other person to deflect the challenge. Often, when confronted with a behaviour issue we will try to turn the tables on someone or something else (aka Jim from the Apprentice). Stay on point, don't get drawn into any other discussion.

4. Make sure the challenge is understood - ask for feedback from the person on the behaviour being challenged.

5. Plan a path forward with the person. Get them to come up with thoughts for making the change and suggest ways in which you could support this.