Are you trapped in your data – or do you share a vision that engages employees and compels them to action?
It’s tax season and if you’re like me, you’ve been spending a fair amount of time with numbers lately. Numbers can tell a compelling story. Did you stick to your budget? Did you take a special vacation? Was there an illness or unexpected expense? Stitched together, numbers can give color to your year in review.
When evaluating your year in review – what if you only looked at the numbers – and not the story? It would paint a rather dull picture. I have seen the same thing happen to executives when presenting to their internal stakeholders and even external audiences. They can get bogged down in the numbers – the minutiae of the past – and neglect to share their vision for the future. Then they become angry when the “troops” fail to execute the company’s goals. But how can the team be effective when all they have to reference is the past? The executive failed to share their vision – and path – to the future.
I recently had an executive tell me, “I used to think ‘these numbers speak for themselves’. Now, I realize that I have to provide the perspective behind the numbers.” Failing to provide perspective is an easy trap. We can capture – track – measure numbers. They are easily accessible and reflect the number of widgets sold and customers gained. But numbers alone are inneffective when used to express a vision for the future. ‘We’re completely focused on building customer loyalty!’ ‘Cost discipline will save our year in this tough environment!’ Or simply, ‘I want to build a better company/team/product that solves a problem.’ All good, visionary goals that can get absolutely buried if you’re focusing solely on last quarter’s data.
And let’s face it. Highly motivated employees want to embrace a vision. Behavioral statistician James Folkman has studied the impact of having a meaningful vision on the engagement of employees. After analyzing data from 50,000 employees, Folkman found that an employee’s engagement with a company vision directly impacts their productivity.
Based on the graph, employees who do not have a clear understanding of the company’s vision scored 16% on the engagement scale. It’s likely they are only showing up for the paycheck – and nothing more. However, those employees who embraced the vision scored a 68% on the engagement scale. These team members are more highly invested in meeting the company’s goals.
Unfortunately, a recent Gallup Poll State of the Global Workplace: Employee Engagement Insights for Global Leaders indicates that only one-third of baby boomers and Gen-X employees are engaged in their work. And 1 out of 5 are ‘actively disengaged.’ Consider some of the country’s great visionary leaders: Steve Jobs – Alan Mulally – Herb Kelleher! All big thinkers who motivated scores of people to overcome insurmountable odds to achieve a goal. They all have one thing in common – they shared their vision. And they backed it up with actions to achieve that vision.
So…how do you share your vision? Do you find yourself trapped in your data, reciting the most recent numbers in an effort to accurately paint a picture? Or do you share your vision first – then leverage select numbers as examples of the actions needed to achieve that vision? Engage your employees! Empower your team! Build a better something! Share your vision!