Focusing your people and creating determination, don’t take it for granted that it ‘Should’ just happen!
Your people need a focus without a goal or direction they wander from task to task not fully committing to the job in hand. It is a common mistake to think that just because you select people on their individual merit they can work well along side other people. To create a strong team who stand by your company’s principals and ethos is often simply seen as a requirement of employment. This view is very similar to that of ‘respect being expected not earned’.
The greatest leaders in history all have one thing in common and that is the fact that people wanted to follow them and believed in the cause. To create this ‘buy in’ or the’ engagement’ of your people, is a skill that has been practise by military leaders for thousands of years long before any company or business was formed. In truth early business models where based on military units, the structure and organisation as well as the discipline. As companies and the economy has grown these basic ideas have been replaced by new and more productive means of enterprise the eventual result being the detachment from military ideas, because they seemed irrelevant to the business world.
With an increasing number of large co-corporations and blue chip companies failing in today’s climate it is obvious that for too long the emphasis has been on rapid growth, increased turn over and market placement. Basic principals have been ignored and the key to any company’s success, its people, has been taken for granted.
‘Buzz words’, ‘management speak’; email and text have all weakened the communication skills of the nation. Within businesses an hourly rate culture has been born and the question is all too often what can the company do for me, leading to a negative and cut throat working environment.
It is easier to lead people who want to follow; engagement is the key to creating a strong team. The key to engagement lies in the situations that you expose your team to.
The work place is often a very un stimulating environment where new ideas can be crushed before they are born. A person can not develop without time to think and process new information. The more people revert to their every day activities and simply want to get through the working day the less engaged they will become. Without engagement there can be no Team.
If you always do what you have done you will always get the results you have got.
The words team building often conjure up images of cringe worthy ice breaking exercises and unrealistic activities. This is not always the case more and more companies budget for team ‘away days’ but loose their objectives along the way and simply pay for a go karting evening or a day at the races. This is great but when you return to the work place what skills have been developed?
Going back to the military model on a daily basis the armed forces interact with colleagues in any number of challenging activities. By taking part in these tasks together, bonds are formed, friendships are forged and respect is earned. The core values that people need to nourish their mental and physical wellbeing still stand in the armed forces and it is interesting that words that are coined by the business world often have a military origin.
By providing your team with the opportunities to express themselves in a non work environment that they find stimulating, challenging and different you place a price tag on each individual, they now have a value to the organisation. Battles are not simply won or lost by Generals who give orders during war time, it is the dutiful many who are prepared to fight for what they truly believe in.
Imagine the impact that pointing everyone in the same direction and then releasing their potential could have on your company team or group.
The key to your success is your peoples engagement and their team spirit.
Go Commando- from team work comes teams that work.
Hi, my name is Eric Matthews and I am an expert in motivational training. I enjoy writing advice articles in my spare time.
If you would like more information, visit Go Commando on their website. The experts in motivational training - www.go-commando.co.uk
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