![]() |
"...And winged hope, with heart of fire, To gain the blissof thy desire." - William Winter
Are you among those leaders who daily lament the generallack of dedication, direction or fruitful discussion withinyour workplace?
I'd like to suggest three strategies leaders can use to:
=> Instill stronger commitment to organizational goals andmissions;
=> Sharpen the focus of managers, employees and partners onthe intent or leanings of your organizational strategy;
=> Enrich and nurture deeper
Dedication - Building Commitment Through ParticipativeStrategies
How often do you involve or seek the input of yourassociates before making a decision?
Great leaders rigorously ask for and listen to the adviceof their colleagues when analyzing situations, evaluatingproblems and formulating courses of action.
Additional ways to involve your people are through thefollowing processes:
1) Developing the strategic plan and when supervising progress through the strategic plan,
2) During your annual
3) Creating the year-end performance review format,criteria and of course, when conducting the reviews themselves.
Engaged, participating, involved people will usually takeownership of and responsibility for the success of yourendeavors.
Boost their dedication to the enterprise using thesestrategies.
Direction - Drive Performance Through Powerful Intentions
People are generally motivated to be of service to otherswhen that service helps fulfill a noble or higher purpose.
Jesus Christ taught us that, "the greatest among you shall beservants of all"! His lesson was based on the fact that weusually seek ways to make a significant difference in thelives of others.
Leadership always describes a vision, that glorious sightof some far-off desirable place or situation the grouphopes to discover through their efforts and hard work.
By using your strategy to discipline your people to executeand work on the most important, value-adding tasks, you canincrease their sense of the organization's strategic intent.
Wisdom contends "a picture is worth a thousand words." Whynot map or build a model of your strategic plan - peoplefind it easier to relate the ideas of strategy when thatstrategy is transformed into a roadmap.[A 2-Volume Manual entitled, "Creating Fail-proof Plans...!"shows you how to do this - to learn more visit: "CreatingFail-proof Plans for Strategic Advantages!" at:http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/planning.html]
Dialogue - Empowering Vitality By Sowing Confidence
"The man that hath no music in himself,Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;The motions of his spirit are dull as night,And his affections dark as Erebus.Let no such man be trusted." - William Shakespeare
Leaders who succeed are those who continually speak sweetsounds of encouragement, commitment and authenticity.
Effective communication is always a two-way process - itinvolves:
=> Give and Take;
=> Searches for understanding and comprehension;
=> Sacrifices of kindnesses and praise
=> Taking a firm stance and yielding to persuasion
------------------------------------------------------------
Everyday your leadership is tasked to do these threecritical things: to boost dedication, to sharpen directionand to enrich dialogue.
When you concentrate your energies on performing thosetasks to the best of your ability, you will uncovernumerous opportunities to enjoy blessings of joy,
Study the methods suggested above and then practice doingthem a little at a time, each and every hour.
When you do, you'll see positive, energizing results inless than a month!
"Delightful task! to rear the tender thought,To teach the young idea how to shoot"- James Thomson
The 'delightful task' is yours - stoke the embers ofinnovative creativity that lay dormant in your people.
Use these strategic techniques to add the spark ofempowered vision, sincere dedication, unwavering directionand vibrant dialogue to your organization today!
Copyright © 2005, Mustard Seed Investments Inc.,All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Bill Thomas is author of "Leading A Creative, Evolutionary,Innovative Organization!" - an idea-packed, 2-Volume set ofmanuals to help you electrify, empower and infuse yourleadership with scientifically-proven, evolutionary,results-producing strategies. Energize your innovation!http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/innovation.html------------------------------------------------------------