Tim: So the lesson that seems to be
echoed in all of your sentiments is this idea
of investing in your people—giving them
the right skills, framework and guidelines
so that they can do great work for us.
Dave: Yes, to that point, in Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life,”
he talks about the fact that what motivates
people most is the desire to make a difference in the world and in what they do. If
employees believe that you are empowering them to make a difference, it’s one
of the key ingredients to getting the most
out of our teams.
Tim: Dave, I could not agree more. In my
Leadership Challenge Workshop, I share
thoughts from Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s
Search for Meaning.” One thought that
we discuss is “The meaning of life is to
give life meaning.” I believe leaders have a
responsibility is to give our work meaning.
Mike: Agreed and not only must we give
our work meaning but as leaders we must
ensure that this meaning is directly aligned
with our organization’s core purpose. I find
that when we can connect the dots from
the work that we do to our institution’s
vision, mission, purpose and values
are employees gain stronger sense
of empowerment.
Tim: So many have people said that
we get so lost in the whirlwind of what we
do that we forget those really powerful
motivators for people. People will go
to the ends of the earth for you if you
can give them the right reasons to do it
and we often lose sight of that purpose
and meaning. When it comes to IT
in particular, why is it important for us
as leaders to empower our teams?
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