Thursday, December 17, 2009
Communicating a Person’s Worth
Stephen Covey said, “Leadership is communicating people’s worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it themselves.”
So I ask you, Leader, in what ways are you communicating your staff’s worth and potential to them during a normal work day?
The worth of a team member speaks to their value, significance, and importance to the team. In other words, how they contributed to the success (or failure) of a project. I’ve found that it is much easier to point out the deficiencies in performance. Why? Because your customers are more than happy to point out when something goes wrong or isn’t done correctly.
Sidebar: Be grateful for the customer that complains because you now have concrete information on what to fix!
On the other side of the coin - the great work performance - is also easy to identify and acknowledge. As managers we usually heap lots of public praise and recognition on our star performers. Sometimes, we even reward their excellence by giving them even more work. (This is not a great reward by the way.)
My problem is how to recognize the worth with the “edge” of the coin; or, those employees who do their job but are neither stellar nor dead weight. They play a part but don’t stand out. They contribute but don’t seek attention. You might be asking yourself, “Why bother with learning how to make a person feel worthy and live up to their potential?”
Simply, one of the greatest gifts you can give another person is the gift of feedback. When you have two-way communication (both giving and receiving feedback) you validate the effort that individual made on behalf of the team. Another set of eyes witnessing your work struggles and triumphs increases confidence to attempt even bigger things. When the ‘other set of eyes’ is your manager it means even more.
How to Bring out the Best in People so they see their Worth and Potential:
1) Expect their best from the start.
2) Understand individual team member needs.
3) Create an environment where failing isn’t the end of a career.
4) Establish clear guidelines on acceptable - and expected - standards of performance.
People like to know what needs to get done, how to do it easily and efficiently, and be acknowledged for the part they played—even if they are wallflowers.
Cheer on your team and reap the rewards.
Until next time...lead like you mean it!
Marjorie