MANAGEMENT SPECIAL.. The Loyalty Leap

The Loyalty Leap 

How to energise the workforce

1. Failure to find the FIT. FIT comes from asking three critical questions: What are my gifts and talents? What am I absolutely passionate about? What needs to be done-where can I make a contribution? When my gifts and talents are aligned with my passion in a job that makes a valuable contribution, I'm happy, alive and having fun at work. Most companies are not very rigorous about matching employee talents with the needs of the company. They're not rigorous about finding the FIT. We talk a lot about wellness, but people who are doing work they are not gifted at and not passionate about are not well; they're mentally and emotionally ill. This contributes to decay and deadness in the organization.
2. Too much emphasis on TITLES versus RESULTS. Lip service is given to engagement and empowerment, but the real deal is command and control. Employees are inadvertently taught the importance of hierarchy in getting things done. The result is a culture of fear where everyone plays to titles instead of doing what they know is right for the business. The Internet just might be the greatest democracy on the face of the earth. If you have a great idea, people follow you. If your content isn't compelling, they don't. Creating a culture of innovation is a lot like the Internet. The best ideas, not tenure, titles and hierarchy, win.
3. Lack of courage to test new ideas.
People's spirits are deadened when the waters of creativity are stagnant. Zero defect cultures foster the kind of cautious inactivity that slows the organization down and makes it sluggish. We can never know our true capacity unless we are encouraged and willing to push the limits and test the boundaries of what we are capable of. Innovation is the result of experimentation and experimentation is the result of risking more and failing faster. This why leaders who create an environment that inspires creativity and ingenuity aren't afraid to reward intelligent failure.
4. Employees who have no voice. People who have no voice don't feel trusted or valued. So, they check out. The true experts in most organizations are those closest to the point of action doing the work. They know where the opportunities lie, they know what market trends are emerging, and they know where waste and redundancies exist.
    Leaders who fail to put the true experts in control of their work create a paternal culture where creative discovery, freedom and responsibility are traded for a reactive, victim-like mentality. Innovation is radical because it not only changes the rules of the game; it's about changing the rule makers.
5. Lack of diversity. We're not just talking about cultural or ethnic diversity; we're talking about diversity of thought and ideas. If you only hang out with people who look and think and act like you do, this doesn't unleash your creativity, it sharpens your prejudice. It takes guts to surround yourself with diverse others. They are often eccentric, weird and difficult to manage. But they are the ones who will draw you out of the comfort zone and take you on an adventure where you can find the NEXT big thing. They will keep it interesting and lively. Innovation feeds on multiple points of view.
6. Employees who embrace a VICTIM mentality. People want freedom, but they seek safety. Far too many people we have met in our travels fail to assume responsibility for their own happiness and well being at work. They assume it is the organization's job to make them happy and content. They assume it's the organization's job to train and equip them to become more marketable. When the organization fails, people jump into the blame frame and start pointing fingers. As this cancer spreads it deadens the spirit of the enterprise.
7. Failure to acknowledge the WHOLE person. Whether it's sick kids, aging parents, planning a vacation, visiting a doctor or dropping off the dry cleaning, life happens when life happens, not just before 8:00 am and after 6:00 pm. Organizations that fail to acknowledge the person behind the software developer or customer service agent fail to acknowledge the distraction that keep these individuals from doing great work. Innovative companies figure out how to eliminate these distractions and make people feel valued. The result is an incredibly unique culture that has a distinct competitive advantage in attracting the best and brightest talent who, in turn, create world-class products and services.
8. Lack of optimism and resilience. No one gets it right in business all the time, but successful companies and leaders have the ability to bounce back from failure. Unsuccessful companies let it take them down. The assumption is that optimism and resilience is something you are born with, you either have it or you don't. The research suggests otherwise. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that optimism can be learned and bred into a culture intentionally.
    Innovation is messy. It doesn't follow a neat, linear path. It offers no guarantees. And, it tests the validity of an idea through trial and error. This is why the "bounce back" factor is so critical. People keep moving forward, trying new things that keeps them invigorated.
9. Inability to celebrate and have fun.
There is a "deadness" in organizations that don't see the value in or don't know how to celebrate. It's amazing how many really cool things can be going on in a company that most people don't have a clue about. Celebration fuels people's fire to do the next great thing, without it heroic contributions are missed and the emotional bonds that wed people's affection and enthusiasm to the company are weakened.
10. No CAUSE to fight for. When the work is defined in terms of a cause what follows is a movement. A healthy level of fanaticism and missionary zeal characterizes the movement. People want to belong to something larger than themselves-something that gives their lives meaning and significance. People who have a direct line of sight between their individual contributions and the cause are more engaged. They see innovation as a necessity, as a way to further the cause.
Drs. Jackie and Kevin Freiberg are best-selling authors of NUTS! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and personal Success and NANOVATION: How a Little Car Can Teach the World to Think Big and Act Bold.

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