Lisa's thoughts on topics relating to organizational excellence and more...
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posted Feb 12, 2016, 7:10 AM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Feb 12, 2016, 7:56 AM
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“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman
A vibrant and effective business culture creates a palpable energy that you can feel the moment you walk in the door. It’s more than employees who enjoy their work and it’s more than employees with a single-minded focus on execution. What you feel is a sense of purposeful activity, passion and commitment. You feel the dynamic resonance of a group of people with diverse talents and perspectives, joined by a common passion. You feel the energy of a group of people who have come alive.
There are many stellar examples of businesses that have managed to create this energy within their culture and have experienced tremendous success as a result. How do they do it?
Wegmans is supermarket chain based in the North East that consistently ranks highly on Fortune’s Best Places to Work For, coming in at 12th for 2014. The chain employs 42,000 people, is extremely profitable and experiences employee turnover consistently less than 6%. What makes Wegmans such a great place to work? They provide excellent benefits, above-average pay, allow employees flexible scheduling and provide a generous college scholarship program. They invest considerably in employee training, sending department managers to visit suppliers and learn about the products they sell. Their “Eat Well Live Well” programs help employees live healthy and active lifestyles and inspire them to share their way of life with customers. Their happy, knowledgeable and empowered workforce is clearly a significant factor in the cult-like loyalty of their customers.
It’s more than employees who enjoy their work and it’s more than employees with a single-minded focus on execution. What you feel is a sense of purposeful activity.
Hubspot is an in-bound marketing software provider that employs over 500 people in the Boston area. It has been lauded for several years as a best place to work by the Boston Business Journal and was recognized as a Best Medium-Sized Company to Work For in 2014 by Glassdoor.com. Key elements of the Hubspot culture include a “No Door Policy,” where CEO Brian Halligan and other top executives share the same office space as everyone else, a transparent communication policy, no vacation policy, and employee organized projects to improve the company. Employees are inspired by the Hubspot mission to create marketing that people love. All of these elements are immortalized and kept front and center with their “Culture Code.” Hubspot views their culture as a key strategic differentiator.
Finally, The Motley Fool is an investment advice firm that thrives on being disassociated with the standard Wall Street bandwagon. Employing about 300 people, its mission is to help individual investors take control of their financial futures. In 2014 Glassdoor.com ranked it as the No. 1 Best Medium-Sized Company to Work For. Central to its culture are a lack of formal titles, no separate offices and no set vacation or sick days. They have a full-time wellness coach, on-site recreation activities and provide free healthy snacks. Employees write their own job descriptions and each choose their own personal “motley value” to add to the company values. Every employee that joins the company is given $1000.00 to invest along with advice from in-house experts. The Motley Fool excels in a conservative industry with an unconventional culture.
Far more instructive than any of the specific elements of these cultures, is to understand the beliefs or principles that are behind them.
Every employee that joins the company is given $1000.00 to invest along with advice from in-house experts. The Motley Fool excels in a conservative industry with an unconventional culture.
A Business is a System
Fundamental to each of these companies is the awareness that business is an interconnected system of stakeholders, the belief that the employee is central to the system, and the recognition of the importance of a motivational culture. They pride themselves on rejecting conventional wisdom regarding how to run their business.
Per Wegmans CEO, Danny Wegman, “Our employees are the number one reason our customers shop at Wegmans. I’m convinced there is only one path to great customer service, and that is through employees who feel they are cared about and empowered.”
Business is an interconnected system of stakeholders, the belief that the employee is central to the system, and the recognition of the importance of a motivational culture.
Trust and Respect the Individual while Fostering Community.
Employees that feel valued and respected as individuals will return that respect to their colleagues. Mutual respect is foundational to effectively building community and fostering collaboration. As Tom Gardner, CEO of the Motley Fool puts it, “To not trust your people means something is fundamentally wrong with the culture.”
Allowing employees to manage their work schedules and vacation time, openly sharing information and minimizing hierarchy are all actions that send the message that employees are valued and trusted.
Providing resources to help them manage other aspects of their life, such as wellness support, allows the employee to feel valued as a complete person, with outside interests and needs.
To not trust your people means something is fundamentally wrong with the culture.
Perks such as game rooms, free food, community service and social events provide the opportunity for employees to connect and build community. They also offer a change in context that can foster collaboration and innovation.
Empower Employees to Get Results
Employees are most productive when they are empowered to act and have the information and resources they need to achieve results. Empowered employees bring themselves fully to the task and provide the new ideas that foster innovation.
Brian Hooligan, CEO of Hubspot, describes their organization. “Part of creating this environment of innovation is making the organization decentralized and flat. We want to empower the edges of the organization, and we want to let the people who really understand our customers make decisions.”
Transparent communications, flat organizations, minimal bureaucracy and access to learning and development opportunities all help to create an empowering culture.
Provide Meaning and Inspiration to Support Motivation
A human being’s highest potential is reached when they are intrinsically motivated. Each of these businesses recognizes the importance of providing meaning for their employees and they leverage their mission to inspire not only employees, but also partners and customers.
How can you help your organization come alive?
As you work to improve your own culture, don’t simply leverage what other successful companies have done. Rather, first understand and then internalize what they believe – the principles behind their culture. Ask yourself, “How can I bring these principles to life within my organization?”
You can always add a game room, but if you don’t really believe in or value the importance of creating community, that game room will be a lonely place.
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posted Feb 12, 2016, 6:32 AM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Feb 12, 2016, 7:57 AM
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What if you could focus on just one principle that would dramatically increase the effectiveness of your organization? How would your leadership approach shift if you viewed your organization through a lens of connection?
“Let’s just keep asking ourselves this question: ‘Is what I’m about to do strengthening the web of connections, or is it weakening it?’” ~ Margaret Wheatley
The concept of connection is central to the definition of an organization. In the simplest form, an organization is a group of people connected to each other, to their work and to a common goal or outcome.
When assessing your organization, it’s easy to focus largely on talent. Although talent is certainly important, the strength of the connections within your organization will determine how effectively that talent is leveraged and the ultimate capability and effectiveness of the overall organization.
The strength of the connections… will determine how effectively talent is leveraged.Your opportunity as a leader is to foster three critical connections. How can you help your employees connect to each other, to their work and to your business goals? Creating Community
Connection between employees in an organization creates relationships and a sense of community. These relationships support an employee’s motivational need to belong, create personal commitment and cooperation, and build the foundational trust necessary for effective collaboration. They also support something sorely lacking in many workplaces – the opportunity to enjoy our time at work.
Can you think of a time when you were strongly committed to an organization without feeling a strong sense of connection and belonging? Probably not.
Building a connected organization requires a leader that values relationships, is interested in connecting with people and is willing to invest the time required to make it happen. It requires recognizing that your employees are people first.
Your employees are people first. Relationships support an employee’s motivational need to belong, create personal commitment and cooperation, and build the foundational trust necessary for effective collaboration.
Create a community for your employees by connecting with them and encouraging them to connect with each other.
Facilitating SuccessThe ability to feel connected and committed to your work is very closely related to your ability to feel successful. Humans all have a basic motivational need to achieve. If your ability to achieve is seriously compromised, you tend to dis-connect to minimize feelings of personal failure. In contrast, the opportunity to overcome achievable challenges builds a sense of success and commitment and allows you to truly enjoy your work.All employees need to feel successful. Fostering collaboration within an organization requires that all employees have the opportunity to feel successful. In a culture where success is very narrowly defined, perhaps as the attainment of a particular level or position, the employees’ drive for success will incentivize competition at the expense of collaboration.Can you think of a job that you were absolutely loved and were committed to, despite your inability to feel successful? Can you think of a truly collaborative organization where all of the respect, recognition and accolades are reserved for a small minority?- How can you connect your employees with what they need to feel successful?
- Believe in them. Set clear expectations and believe in their ability to deliver.
- Provide context. Do your employees understand why what they are doing is important? How it connects to the goals of the business?
- Provide resources. Do your employees have access to the information, tools and training that they need to get the job done?
- Create a Learning Environment. Value and encourage ideas, constructive conflict and contributions from all employees at all levels. Encourage exploration and autonomy, as well as results.
Facilitate your employees’ commitment to their work by connecting them with what they need to feel successful.
Fueling InspirationAlthough we are all motivated at some level for personal success, ultimately it is the opportunity to contribute to something larger than ourselves that hooks our intrinsic motivation, taps our highest creativity, and keeps us inspired for the long term. This type of meaning is also a powerful connector for an organization and drives the collaboration necessary for optimal performance and innovation.How inspired is your team? Are they aligned by the opportunity to make a significant impact on something they believe in?As a leader your opportunity is to keep your employees connected to the inspiring elements of your business. What is the contribution your business provides to the world? How are you positively impacting your customers? What breakthrough technologies are you working on? How do you excel in your industry? Although financial results are a critical metric and tool for any business, they are not inspiring for most employees. Inspiration comes from the opportunity to make an impact on something you believe in – it comes from meaning.Although we are all motivated at some level for personal success, ultimately it is the opportunity to contribute to something larger than ourselves that hooks our intrinsic motivation, taps our highest creativity, and keeps us inspired for the long term.Inspire your employees by connecting them to the meaning in their work. Helping your employees connect in these three areas not only motivates the individual; it simultaneously strengthens the effectiveness of the overall organization! It is these connections that allow the group to achieve more than simply the sum of each individual’s efforts.One focus. Connection. Does your approach with your organization strengthen or weaken them?
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posted Mar 24, 2014, 2:30 PM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Feb 12, 2016, 6:18 AM
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posted Oct 14, 2013, 6:03 AM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Oct 14, 2013, 7:07 AM
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posted Sep 18, 2013, 11:55 AM by Lisa Shelley
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posted Sep 18, 2013, 6:30 AM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Oct 1, 2013, 3:02 AM
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posted Sep 18, 2013, 6:19 AM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Oct 1, 2013, 3:19 AM
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posted May 9, 2013, 6:12 AM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Oct 1, 2013, 3:29 AM
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posted Apr 18, 2013, 7:20 AM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Oct 1, 2013, 5:29 PM
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posted Apr 16, 2013, 11:21 AM by Lisa Shelley
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updated Jul 23, 2013, 1:58 PM
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“From Day 1 I felt valued, empowered and trusted.” This is a pretty impactful statement for any employee to make. However when you consider that this is the reflection of an employee starting a job as a seasonal cashier, it’s not a surprise to learn that her company just celebrated its 14th year on Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work” list. The Container Store simply gets it. To begin, the company understands and holds as one of its core principles that a great employee is worth three good employees. The management clearly recognizes the direct connection between the capability, energy and passion of the employees and the success of the business. And there is a clear understanding that having great employees requires not just hiring great people, but maintaining a culture that allows them to feel valued and empowered from Day One. Add to all of that, a dose of inspiration, and you have a powerful recipe for great employees, who ultimately make a great business possible. What Kip Tindell, co-Founder and CEO of the Container Store, has done seemingly instinctively, is to build a culture in direct support of human motivational needs. Albert Maslow first introduced the concept of human motivation stemming from a hierarchical set of needs in his 1943 paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation”. Maslow proposed that each higher level need builds on the foundation of the previously met need. Once a person’s basic survival and security needs have been met, humans are motivated by the Social need to Belong, the Esteem need to Achieve and ultimately by the need to Self-Actualize or to contribute to something bigger than themselves.
The management clearly recognizes the direct connection between the capability, energy and passion of the employees and the success of the business.
Putting this in terms of work, we all want to be a respected and valued part of the team. We want to be empowered to complete goals and achieve. And ultimately we are inspired by the opportunity to make an impact on something bigger than ourselves. The Container Store believes in “Putting the Employees First,” and everything that follows from that core belief results in employees feeling respected, valued and a part of the team from Day One. Add to this mantra, over 260 hours of training in the employees’ first year, plus 170 hours per year of additional training after that, and you have an employee who has the tools they need for success… they are empowered to contribute. What Kip Tindell, co-Founder and CEO of the Container Store, has done seemingly instinctively, is to build a culture in direct support of human motivational needs.
Inspired? The Container Store’s selective, employee-run hiring process yields people – often customers themselves – who are zealots about helping others improve the quality of their lives through organization. It’s a simple formula that can work in any organization. Respect. Empower. Inspire. The trick is to remember it’s a hierarchy. It’s difficult to inspire someone who doesn’t feel like a valued member of the team. They are much more likely to seek inspiration elsewhere.
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