With many of us enjoying a festive long weekend, both here in Canada as well as in the United States, I was reminded about the inspiration behind one of my most popular posts from the last several months, that touched on the connection between having a fun time and employee engagement. For recent readers of my blog, I’m sure you’ll find this an enjoyable and inspiring read. And for those of you who have been reading my blog for the last year or so, this will be a pleasant reminder of how to encourage collaboration and engagement within your team.
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Inspiration can be a curious thing.
I’m always amazed at how seemingly unrelated pieces can stir up new ideas or perspectives about our world and the way we live and conduct ourselves within it. Take, for example, this commercial released on YouTube last week by Coca-Cola called the “Happiness Machine”.
While the commercial is effective in creating this idea of Coca-Cola being a source of happiness, there’s also a valuable lesson here that can be imparted to business leaders in how they interact with their employees.
Today, the net is abuzz with the release of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s book “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose”. I was fortunate to be selected as one of the bloggers who was sent an advance copy of Hsieh’s book to review on my site (as well as a second copy of the book which I will be giving away for free to one of my readers. More on that later).
In addition to being thrilled at the opportunity to read this book in advance of its release, I was also understandably curious to read the insights of an entrepreneur who was able to take a struggling online shoe retailer and transform it into one of the decade’s biggest success stories. A few chapters into Hsieh’s book, that curiosity soon transformed into one of delight as Hsieh revealed his need to move past seeking profits to finding some purpose and meaning behind his efforts.
Hsieh’s book begins by sharing some stories from his childhood, featuring moments where his budding entrepreneurial spirit propelled him to come up with all sorts of plans on how to make money. The tales are for the most part endearing, reminding the reader of the whimsical image of the makeshift lemonade stand children create to sell beverages to the passersby.
No matter what industry your business is based in, all entrepreneurs and small business owners share one thing in common – the desire to see their business grow and become more profitable. In most cases, this drive leads to a focus on looking out for new markets or finding new ways to attract new customers. And yet, few business owners consider the importance that growing and developing their team of employees plays in helping their company to achieve greater prosperity and stability.
Indeed, in a recent survey among owners of the fastest growing small businesses in North America, over 77% of respondents said that “hiring the right people” played a significant role in their company’s ability to grow. Of course, many entrepreneurs and small business owners don’t start their companies so they can be in a position to lead others. Instead, most embrace the entrepreneurial spirit in order to ‘be their own boss’ and not to become someone else’s.
This is probably why many treat the hiring of new employees as if they were securing another vendor in their product supply chain. In other words, business owners tend to simply look for someone to pass off some of the issues they face in getting their products/services out into the hands of their customers. While this approach can help provide some short term gains, it prevents business owners from understanding the value employees offer to the future growth of their company.
When I was growing up, my parents would often share with me the stories and parables they were told as children back in India. One of my favourites was the story of the blind men and the elephant. In the story, six blind men were asked to describe what an elephant is just by touching it. One by one, the blind men touched the animal and said an elephant was like a tree branch, a rope, a fan, a pillar, a pipe and a wall. Confused over who was right, the blind men were told that the reason for their different answers was because they had touched different parts of the animal, namely it’s trunk, tail, ear, leg, tusk and belly. As a parable, the message is clear that we must never lose sight of the fact that our perception of the world around us can be very limited, preventing us from understanding the bigger landscape.
In the context of the challenges facing businesses today, this story bears some valuable messages for leaders facing the question of how to ensure their company’s continued growth and viability in the years ahead. Like the blind men in this tale, many different ideas/solutions are being handed out to explain how to address the current challenges companies face today.
This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to appear as a guest on the Real Recognition Radio show, which airs every Tuesday at 1PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the VoiceAmerica Business channel. In this week’s episode, titled “A Better Workplace Conversation”, hosts Roy Saunderson and S. Max Brown interviewed feedback expert Sonia Di Maulo and myself on the issues of leadership, workplace interactions and fostering motivation in employees (Sonia has written a follow-up piece about our interview on her blog. I invite you to check it out and find out what key points stood out from this discussion).
For those who didn’t get a chance to hear the radio broadcast, or who’d like to hear the show again, you can listen to the interview using the audio player below. Or if you prefer, you can download a MP3 copy of the show from the Real Recognition Radio show web page.
Some of the topics discussed during this show include:
Why giving positive feedback is critical to creating a productive workplace.
How listening can foster opportunities for growth.
Why the best leaders are those who focus on serving those they lead.
The importance of praise and recognition in the workplace and how we can start implementing it today.
How we can engage our employees in these tough economic times.
Why leaders should encourage a more emotional workplace.
What are the most important opportunities facing organizations today.
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I want to take this opportunity to thank Roy Saunderson and S. Max Brown for inviting me to appear on their show. It was a pleasure to share my insights on leadership and motivating employees with your listeners. And I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this conversation on leadership and motivating employees.
What ideas resonated with you and what would you add to the discussion on these issues?
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