Is This Happening in Your Workplace?
THERE’S BEEN LOTS of change, morale is low, and everyone is stressed out. You as the manager know you need to do something…anything…but don’t know exactly what. You come up with an idea…bring in a motivational speaker to rouse your folks. Or, better yet, send them to a motivational rally where they can get pumped up.
I was recently contacted by such a manager and asked if I do motivational speaking. I answered that I am a business speaker on workplace and leadership issues. I do programs that inform, inspire and involve the audience in developing positive ways to improve their situation. Do they feel better? Perhaps! But what I’m striving for is not people feeling better but people thinking and doing things better!
I then asked this manager what is the purpose for bringing someone in to speak to his folks or for sending them to a rally? Is it to acknowledge and recognize outstanding performance and then to encourage his people to move on to the next level? Or is the purpose to help people cope with the inevitable uncertainty and loss that come with any kind of change. The manager was not sure.
So what is the best way to deal with many of the major issues in today’s business environment: Whether it’s employee commitment or continuous change or working smarter?
Celebrate!
That’s according to Terry Deal and M.K. Key in their book Corporate Celebration: Play, Purpose and Profit at Work . They suggest that “thoughtfully planned and meaningful celebrations can pump life back into the workplace.”
They can restore company spirit, reinvigorate employee morale, create community and ultimately improve quality and service. However, the real question is not whether to celebrate but what is the best form of celebration that will achieve specific desired results?
If the above manager wanted to recognize outstanding performance and to encourage his people to move on to the next level, then a motivating presentation could be a viable program. Corporate Celebration provides many other examples of how to give individuals and teams incentive to do their best…to go the extra mile.
However, if the manager wanted to help his people cope with the inevitable uncertainty that comes with any kind of change, the most appropriate form of celebration should focus on a program that will acknowledge the good things of the past and then move on to a new reality and how they will be part of it.
The Workplace Today and Tomorrow
There is little to indicate that downsizing, mergers, or reorganizations will decrease in the years ahead. Rapid change is an inevitable part of life in the 21st century. Transferring employees, renaming business units, merging functions, changing reporting structures—common place events in organizations today—all require, according to the authors, “ceremonial recognition bringing closure to the past and generating hope and optimism for the future.”
[su_box title=”SMART MOVES TIP” style=”glass” box_color=”#2f598a”]So the next time your department or team or division is experiencing lots of change, low morale and stress what, as a change leader, can you do? Or how might you recognize outstanding performance and encourage your people to perform at a higher level? Think celebrations and bring back play purpose and profit at work! Celebrations are not only good employee relations but also good business.[/su_box]
What kinds of celebrations occur at your company or organization? And what are they trying to accomplish? I’m always interested in reader’s feedback.
My Motto Is:
If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got. Therefore, MOVE outside of your comfort zone; that’s where the MAGIC happens.” To bring that magic to your leadership and business, subscribe to Marcia’s monthly Execubrief: Business Edge- Smart Growth Strategies with insights, inspiration and intelligence on how to build great businesses that matter- those that do well and do good.
Did You Know That a New Kind of SMARTS is Needed?
75% of leaders are derailed for reasons related to emotional competencies, including inability to handle people problems, unsatisfactory team leadership during times of difficulty or conflict; or inability to adapt to change or elicit trust. – Center for Creative Leadership. Do you want to boost your emotional and social intelligence and be a more effective leader? Let me help you do it!
