"A man came upon a construction site where three people were working. He asked the first, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am laying bricks.” He asked the second, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am building a wall.” As he approached the third, he heard him humming a tune as he worked and asked, “What are you doing?” The man stood, looked up at the sky, and smiled, “I am building a cathedral!”
If you want your employees to whistle while they work, help them see the bigger picture.
Engaged employees are building cathedrals, not laying bricks and building walls.
To apply this thinking to your team, Dr. Emma Seppälä suggests distributing customer testimonials and announcing when company profits are donated to charities as examples of how to create a sense of purpose.
Do people on your team understand how what they do today helps the team? The company? And your customers? The clearer the link, the more motivated they will be.
We cover this engagement technique and many more in our Management Essentials and Managing Multi-Generational Workplaces Workshops. Email us for more information.