Spelling it Out for a Bigger Impact
Humans are some of the smartest people that I know. With all of our intelligence and with all of our ability to create and design I am always impressed. Humans can create beautiful paintings, design autonomous workflows, and bring so much powerful change into the world.
I believe that all of this change and power comes from a clarity of vision within the human mind. The human that is working on the goal, or that specific task can see the end destination or goal.
When building a good business that is healthy and thriving you need to bring the same level of clarity to your teammates that you likely have for what you are building. Regardless if the company is yours, or if you are managing a team, I am sure you have a vision for what is being built. A goal of what you are building is in your mind, bring that goal to be shared.
Your team, your company, your co-workers need to know what the vision is so that they can speak clearly towards what is being built.
Spelling it out is so key. Humans have all of this raw ambition and desire to work. If you don't spell out the work clearly, then how can that desire and ambition be focused and channeled towards the growth of the company?
Signs that vision is not being spelled out:
People are working on tasks that are off-topic
People that normally work hard, don't engage as they should
People don't ask questions
So if you are building a team then you need to shore up your goals with them. Try digging into OKR's (Objective & Key Result). These are simple things that show your team what you are wanting from them this month, or in this quarter.
Check out this resource on OKRs: https://asana.com/resources/okr-meaning
What If you're Working on Your Own Thing?
Well, I think the same goes for yourself in a lot of ways. Find ways to make sure you are being clear on the reason you are building what you are building?
Is it for your family? Is it for you? Is it to change a community? If so, then what community are you wanting to change? You have the ability to define these things in your own life. So make sure you define them well.
{Insert Transition Here 😉}
I think we have all heard about setting goals or mission statements or whatever it may look like. Yet we sometimes get lost in the weeds that are the Day to Day and we lose focus on what we need to do for our team. When it comes to working with that team and working with them on daily things we need to work on setting that vision for them to get what they need done. That vision will enable everyone to move forward with more confidence that they are making the impact that matters.
We all need things that help us gauge our performance, and the people that care for the company and want to see it succeed and grow want to make sure they are working on the goals, the vision the end game.
For myself in the workplace, I find it even easier to work on the mundane if I know that there is a reason we are working on these tasks. I find that if you are clear in what needs to get done, the motivation will come behind it.
Can you imagine if we were all digging a ditch and we were not clear on what was going in the ditch? We were not clear on why the ditch was going to be dug? Or the purpose that it had. People would be less willing to dig the ditch, or won't dig it deep enough because they won't go through the extra work unless they know what is going inside.
Yet in this same example if we provided clarity, "We are going to be putting electrical in this ditch and we need it to be at a depth of 4 feet and we need it to connect from the street to the hospital".
Now I have clarity because the goal that was being discussed was clearly spelled out. Throw in a Why too 🙂. People who work hard and care for the company would love to know why, because that will motivate them to get the work done. Make the Why impactful too.
Two different Kinds of Why's:
We are needing the electricity to be connected to this hospital
VS.
We are hooking up electricity and we need to make sure we get this right because patients and doctors will be depending on this electricity. 💪
The second has a more lasting impact, a bigger goal that is true, a reason to do the work AND to do a good job. 🎯
Provide clarity by spelling out the work clearly and provide a reason to motivate and the team will push harder and produce a more beautiful and creative outcome than maybe you even thought possible!