INSIGHTS (on leadership/self-leadership)
How do you maximize the energy and motivation level of your team? Try the Organizational Energy Equation, expressed below:
Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a math genius to understand this – it’s actually quite simple. I’ll explain. The formula reads like this: The total energy an organization has (Et) is equal to the energy of the employees (E1) plus or minus the energy the leader brings to the table (E2); that is, the leader can be a positive, or a negative, “ion” in the equation.
In other words, if you’re a leader, and you want your team maximally motivated, ask yourself two questions:
1. Am I doing enough to keep my employees energized?
Keeping employees energized happens when you’re generous in showing appreciation for them, and when you give them meaningful work that connects to things that are personally important (like their values or their personal growth). You energize people when you share a clear, compelling vision and purpose, and when you prioritize the importance of collaboration. And you provide a positive spark when you role model listening and respect, and demonstrate trust by granting autonomy liberally. These are all ways to ensure you’re adding as a leader in the Organizational Energy Equation.
2. Am I adding or subtracting to the organization’s energy with my words and actions?
You become a subtractor of the organization’s energy when you’re indecisive, inconsistent, don’t communicate often enough, or clearly enough, when you create rework/waste, or when you feed negativity. And those are just a few of the ways.
The bottom line here is to be intentional about unleashing, versus undermining, your organization’s energy – zap it versus sap it. It’s a choice you can make.
IMPERFECTIONS (a mistake many make)
So, what do you do if your team at work ain’t exactly a group of the highest-performing individuals you’ve ever seen? Instead of beating your head against the wall in frustration as you see the opportunity for excellence exiting stage right, consider this (and I say this with love):
Working with the B-team ain’t an excuse; chemistry and teamwork beat biology and talent.
Would you rather be working with a team of superstars? Of course. But if you aren’t, focus on what you can control, which is building the best chemistry and teamwork you can within your team, so that you can maximize the output collectively.
And as for helping team members improve individually, it’s important to understand underperformers. Here are the 10 most common reasons employees don’t do what they’re supposed to (as I shared in my bestselling book, “Leading from the Middle”- now also available in paperback). Use what follows as a checklist to diagnose performance problems and to take corrective action accordingly.
Why Employees Don’t Do What They’re Supposed To Do
• They think they’re already doing it
• They don’t know why they should do it
• They don’t know what they’re supposed to do
• They don’t know how to do it
• They don’t know when to do it
• They think something else is more important
• There’s no positive outcome for their doing it
• They’re rewarded for not doing it
• They’re “turned off” by the type of work
• There are circumstances beyond their control
IMPLEMENTATION (one research-backed strategy, tip, or tool)
What’s the best advice movie star Tom Hanks ever got, you ask? It’s simpler than you think, and was offered to him on set early in his career, by an angry director:
“Show up on time. Know the text. Have an idea.”
In an on stage interview in London, Hanks explained it applies to so much of life. Take pride in being prepared. For everything. Always. You’ll stand out in so doing. And be prepared to be a value-add, to bring something to the table with every engagement, whether it’s energy, a smart idea or improvement, or anything that “moves things a little further down the line.”
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