ENERGIZE TO OPTIMIZE
Energize To Optimize Gain Peak Performance
We can’ t expect different behavior from others than what we ourselves offer as an example.“ We are the message” in our companies today. Business leaders, no matter the sector, must
develop ways to thrive during times of constant change. I offer ten specific action ideas( discussed below) to all of my clients as these ideas are designed to gain peak performance from our most important resource— our employees.
Never before have we seen companies put so much pressure on their employees to work longer and harder. John Hinrichs, president of the consulting firm Management Decision Systems, observes that“ ten or fifteen years ago, we used to talk about job enrichment. Now we talk about job engorgement.” There are numerous reasons for this stress-inducing tendency: corporate
OUR CHALLENGE AS LEADERS AND MENTORS IS TWO-FOLD. FIRST, WE MUST ENERGIZE OUR ASSOCIATES SO THEY CAN OPTIMIZE THEIR PERFORMANCE NOW. SECOND, WE NEED TO MAINTAIN BALANCE AND PERSPECTIVE IN OUR OWN LIVES IN ORDER TO HAVE A PROPER WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR ASSOCIATES.
restructurings, which have wiped out layers of managers without reducing the amount of work to be done; new technologies( which eventually will lessen the need for supervision) that are currently causing tough transitions for managers and employees; and increased competition coming from large, efficient players and from niche opportunists.
Our challenge as leaders and mentors
is two-fold. First, we must energize our associates so they can optimize their performance now. Second, we need to maintain balance and perspective in our own lives in order to have a proper working relationship with our associates.
YOU ARE THE MESSAGE Here are the ten things to think about and then proactively implement in your organization. And if you think some of these ten“ energizers” need to come from the top of your organization to be successful, I remind you that leaders start where they are. Do these on your own, and then see what happens around you.
1. Energizers set direction for their units by writing quarterly mission statements. As part of this process, the team commits to established values. Enthusiasm is generated within departments as team members formulate their shared missions. Revising those statements quarterly rekindles that energy and commitment while also providing an opportunity for each person to develop appropriate short-term goals.
2. Energizers truly listen and, thus, are plugged in to reality. They are
10 | SPRING 2017