Article Contents:
Pl read more on the aspect of purpose and values in cultivating achievement orientation mindset
How can a leader inculcate the purpose?
As we have discussed the importance and method of creating PURPOSE at an individual level, let us discuss how effective leaders are inculcating the PURPOSE to the organization’s employees.
As an individual, the benefit of knowing the purpose is to elevate our energy and focus on a higher cause, which will also help us navigate the challenges easily. Similarly, when the team in the organization also knows and aligns themselves on the higher purpose of the organization, the focus and interaction would be on a higher cause than isolated or distracted working.
Since people have different values and personal needs, bringing people together is very significant for organizational growth and internal harmony. Getting that alignment is one of the responsibilities of an effective leader.
As I observed, some of the below are practiced by effective leaders.
1. Sharing the value of the organization to the team frequently
2. Keep the team engaged with new possibilities or targets
Sharing the value of the organization to the team frequently:
This is one of the practices some effective leaders adopt to keep the people on an elevated level. They used to share the organizational values frequently with the team whenever they interacted or through forums.
For example, in one of my previous organizations, the managing director frequently mentioned “Trust building with the customer through service.” Eventually, when people are exposed to repeated values and expectations, their actions and interactions with others are also in line with their organizational values. As long as the person is working in the organization, he is bound to work on building trust with others.
Keep the team engaged with new possibilities or targets.
This is another method I had observed with some of the leaders. They engage the team by showing new possibilities or business targets. This will make the team work on an elevated emotional level as the future possibilities eventually tap out their potential. As human beings, we are always excited to look forward to new things that we have not seen earlier.
For example, a few years back, Ratan Tata conceived the idea of a low-cost car, which no one ever thought of before. That new possibility might have created a positiveness and drive for Tata Motors’ internal team to work together to see it in reality.
The key point when you are aligned with a higher-level purpose is that your energy, emotions, ability to manage the challenges, and achievement orientation would be to a higher degree. That is applicable for the individual and the organization as well.!
Some leaders are good at inculcating those purposes in the team through their consistent effort, which I think is one of the leader’s primary responsibilities!
How do leaders create a conducive environment for achievement orientation among people?
Now, in an organizational setup, let us understand how influential managers/leaders create a conducive environment for his/her team towards achievement orientation.
As I observed, some of the effective managers/leaders have some typical working style patterns. They ensured that they were pushing the team towards achievement orientation by inculcating some of the following habits at the self-level or the organizational level.
Making the expectation clear:
First, the leader/manager BRINGS CLARITY on what they want and from whom they want it. They set the expectation clear among the team. When they are certain about what they want and from whom they expect, they become much more focused. When they communicate their expectations to other people, the other people also work without any ambiguity. Only when people have a dilemma about the direction, do they slow down the execution speed and decision-making capability. When people know what is expected of them, it puts them in the right direction.
Leaders ensure this first step by bringing role clarity, setting the targets, and deploying to the right people,
Establishing a communication forum:
Once the expectation is set, the next thing an effective manager/ leader ensures that establishing communication forums for two-way communication. The communication forum is mainly for being in reality by everyone on the task. The communication forum could be exchanging information through various electronic channels on a fixed time interval or meeting face to face to review the progress. The advantage of establishing a communication forum is to get convinced about progress and ensure that all are on the same page.
Facilitation and feedback:
The next step is the leader believes more in facilitation than commanding to help the people arrive at the right solutions approach or right decisions as facilitation helps the people think and move confidently, rather than in giving instruction mode. The advantage of facilitation is that the leader/manager’s presence is not required when the people face a similar challenge. People learned to think from the leader/ manager’s perspective.
Recognizing:
This is one of the steps most people ignore or do not give much importance to due to various reasons. That is, to recognize or appreciate the people for the effort and the result. Recognizing the work will reinforce the positivity in the people’s minds, which will help them replicate it next time.
In a corporate environment, there is always a debate about whether to appreciate the effort or the result. As I observed, most effective leaders recognize the people’s effort first, and then they are concerned about the result. They believe that eventually, the result will come once the effort is put in the right direction.
When we create an ecosystem, as mentioned above, with varying intensity levels depending on the task or complication of the task, people also orient themselves to achieve.
Conducive Environment triggers the behavior, and it is the primary responsibility of the manager /leader to create a conducive environment.!
