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Communicate, Engage, Perform
Posted by Dawn Harvey - June 3rd 2013
As someone at the helm of a business, you need to be convinced that you and your leadership team are working to unlock the potential of your most valuable resource – your people.
As a business and executive coach I see results expected against ever increasing targets, in shorter time frames and with fewer resources. The pressure to perform is huge. All too often I witness this pressure leading to a very directive leadership and management style. I see demands for action and results with little attempt to engage people in the “why?” There’s often a belief that we don’t have time to communicate and engage. We simply need to get things done. Now!
This style of working can produce the desired outcome in the short term but how does this approach impact on people and teams and performance in the longer term?
My experience shows people and teams managed in this way are less likely to be proactive on behalf of the business. Starved of opportunities to think for themselves, people may shrink from responsibility and internalise stress. Lack of empowerment is a major cause of stress and stress related illnesses are a major cause of absenteeism. Absenteeism and recruitment costs business dearly.
So, how can we prevent a potentially negative spiral of disempowerment and still achieve what we need to achieve within time frames? The answer, is to ensure we communicate and engage our people and teams to support performance and maximize potential.
If long term business results powered by proactive, motivated employees sound attractive, here are 10 simple steps that can lead to enhanced communication, engagement and performance:
1. Communicate the vision – share the story and create a compelling vision of success that people can believe in and get behind
2. Communicate the strategy – share how you plan to achieve the vision
3. Communicate the part people play – demonstrate how each individuals’ objectives link to the strategy. Let them know they count!
4. Engagement – get the buy in from your people by demonstrating the benefits to them personally
5. Engagement – create a desire to be part of this. Make it exciting!
6. Engagement – ask for involvement. How can we work together to make this happen? What part can you play?
7. Performance – set the objective and the timeframe
8. Performance – check if people have the skills and knowledge to make this happen?
9. Performance – address the gaps in skill and knowledge
10. Performance – step back and give people space to rise to the challenge!
We can apply the same principles to team work AND inter-
Imagine the benefits of all departments understanding at a high level, each others purpose and goals and how this linked to the overall vision and strategy of the business. If communication and engagement existed throughout the business, what would then happen to business performance and not just individual performance?
A great example of the benefits of communicate, engage and perform principles across functions is seen in the relationship between the finance function and other parts of the business.
The finance professional’s role is to be expert in measurable performance indicators e.g. sales, profit, cash etc.
When others in the business, (targeted on financial measures), communicate effectively with the finance professional, (the expert in these numbers), and the finance professional gets out into the business, understands it and communicates effectively back, all parties become engaged in the process.
And when this happens, measurable financial business performance improves!
This is the second blog in a series demonstrating important principles for business owners, entrepreneurs and finance professionals. In the first Helen Lumb described her Finance Business Partner journey, the next in our series demonstrates how the above can be applied to a Finance Business Partner approach. Please read our blogs, post comments and feedback, follow @indigoperform on Twitter where we will post when we have added new information or send your email address to info@indigoperformance.co.uk and we will contact you when a new post has been added.
Dawn Harvey is director and co-