The 12-year-old who dreams of being a state wrestling champion has defined success for himself. The entry-level worker sees success in their work because they are doing better financially than her parents ever did. The new CEO of a mid-size company sees success as being the one at the top of the mountain impacting and enacting change so the company will achieve even greater things. All these scenarios define success as an individual. The workforce is made up of individuals needing to work together to produce a quality product or service that the general population or specific industry will purchase. This group of individuals is your team. From entry-level with no experience to the 40-year veteran looking to go out to pasture in 6-months and the CEO overseeing the operation are on the same team. Leaders help advance the team.
Leaders are not directors in a play or movie. Leaders today must be connectors and aligners of success. They must define for every member of the team what success looks like. They must lead people to the target and provide them with the tools, support, and resources that will allow them to be successful. Listed below are 7 points to consider as you begin to define success in the workplace. This will help you develop a winning team.
Success must be clearly defined by leadership and provide a stationary target for all to see. Before moving a target that you set as the mark for success think carefully and critically. Engage with members of your team in this decision. Engage with those with whom it is going to affect. Bring people into the decision-making process and allow them to have say. After all, they want to be successful too. It is said that 90% of the best ideas come from the bottom up.
Seven Ways Defining Success Will Help Move Your Team Forward.
·Defining success to your coworkers puts them in a position to succeed. Not defining success sabotages or cripples your employees and future success.
·When success is defined, and all know the definition it will reduce and/or eliminate the “playing favorites” tag and increase engagement.
·When success is defined, and expectations are clear you will know who to give kudos to and who to reward. When giving kudos to and rewarding someone in an ambiguous environment creates an untrusting workforce and reduces engagement.
·Employee engagement is much higher in an environment where everyone knows what success looks like. Success is measured by the desired result. Aligning and connecting people is the process that will get you to the desired result. Did we hit the target?
·When success is not defined it allows for and tolerates excuses or at least sets the leader up for higher relationship tension in the workforce (this deserves a deeper conversation).
·Accountability is necessary for all people. This includes the leadership. How visible is your personal accountability?
·Leaders provide resources and remove barriers. This allows the coworker to be able to do the job expected of them and helps them clearly see the target that defines success.
Leaders need to go out of their way to listen and understand their coworkers. If your coworkers don’t believe you care your candor will not be accepted. In fact, a non-caring person will lose any traction they may have had or begun to build. You can reach higher levels of success with both caring and candor. Care without candor creates dysfunctional relationships. Candor without care creates distant relationships (Maxwell).
Success for the company is when the whole team advances. Individual and personal success comes most often through a team effort. There may be some super stars along the way but without a supporting cast of focused, trusting team members success will be fleeting.
The duplication of effort doesn’t typically produce the same results. You can control the resources, the tools, and the knowledge that you give to your coworkers but you cannot replicate dedication, teamwork, or the willingness to give more. By developing these resources, you will become a one-in-a-thousand leader.
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