|
Create a Compelling Cause to Motivate your Team
By Lee J. Colan
(This report is an excerpt from “7 Moments… That Define Excellent Leaders”.)
We often hear, “Make every minute count!” but count toward what? How do we know if they count? We have to measure our time against something – it’s our purpose – why we do what we do.
One of the most powerful human needs is the need for meaning or significance. We all want to contribute to something that’s bigger than ourselves.
The world of work offers great opportunities for people to connect with a purpose, a cause. The reality is that people care less about working for a company and much more about working for a compelling cause. Without a compelling cause, our employees are just putting in time. Their minds might be engaged, but their hearts are not.
Meaning precedes motivation. Our cause answers the most fundamental question, “Why do we do what we do?”
A team without a cause is a team without passion. Our team members may achieve short-term results, but they won’t have the heart to go the distance. We might find that their hearts are much bigger than their jobs. If we get our team inspired about a cause, their hearts will follow. Our cause forms a bridge to a brighter tomorrow… and we have to build it!
A compelling cause is not a project goal, financial target or strategic plan. Our employees won’t get emotionally charged about a “10 percent net profit,” a “20 percent return on investment” or a “30 percent increase in market share.” A compelling cause is a reason to be excited about getting up and going to work every day – to dread Fridays and love Mondays.
Compelling causes come in all varieties – perhaps it could be to help others, to make the world a better place, to innovate or to win. Walt Disney’s cause was and continues to be “to make dreams come true.” Coke worked diligently to develop its cause: To put a Coke within reach of every person on Earth. Pepsi’s cause – to “beat Coke!”
Your team’s cause may not be apparent at first glance. For instance, a company that distributes building products to homebuilders may not seem to have a compelling cause, but a deeper look reveals they “help make the American dream a reality.” Now, that’s a cause worth working for!
Excellent leaders don’t wait for their organizations to communicate a cause their teams can commit to. They take the initiative to define a cause for their own teams. They are bold. They step back and look at the big picture.
Our first step is to consider how our team improves conditions for others. What difference are we making? It should stir the emotions. We must also keep our cause real and relevant because people can only commit to what they understand.
For example, a customer call center may have a cause to brighten the day of each and every caller. An information technology department’s cause could be to improve personal productivity. For a purchasing department, it might be to ensure all company products are made with the best raw materials available.
In a recent discussion with a client, we talked about how a compelling cause can ignite a personal commitment to excel at a job. She was reflecting on one of her first jobs as a dishwasher in a hospital. But she did not recall her job as one of only a dishwasher. Her cause was “to help ensure a clean, healthy environment so patients could heal as fast of possible.”
Wouldn’t you be more committed to washing dishes if that were your cause?
Explaining a compelling purpose can not only create a defining moment for employees, but it can also ignite a commitment to excellence!
“Happiness comes from following one’s passion. Success comes from work that you are passionate about.”- Anonymous
Take the 7 Moments Indicator to help your pursuit for leadership excellence.
Copyright © 2007 by Lee J. Colan
Return to Back Issues
|
