Ask anyone in the world’s workforce, and they will tell you the same thing: We all want to work for and manage world-class organizations. Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of the workforce has the privilege of being a part of that desire. Too many organizations simply aren’t taught to instill world-class and, more importantly, each individual working for an organization that isn’t world-class doesn’t take ownership to change the culture.

If morale at your company is low, flipping your company’s culture into a thriving, productive organization will take effort and time, but here are three tips to begin the journey of improvement right away.

Ask anyone in the workforce, and they will agree: We all want to work for a world-class organization. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of the workforce has the privilege of fulfilling that desire. Too many organizations simply aren’t taught how to instill world-class values, principles, and strategies. More importantly, most leaders working for non world-class organizations do not take the ownership to change the culture.

If morale at your organization is low, flipping your culture into a thriving, productive organization will take effort and time. It won't happen overnight, but with enough dedication, any organization can thrive. Here are three tips to begin the journey of improvement today:

If morale at your company is low, flipping your company’s culture into a thriving, productive organization will take effort and time, but here are three tips to begin the journey of improvement right away.

1.

Help everyone understand their purpose for Working there.

Nobody comes to work for “just a paycheck,” but when we ask leaders of organizations why their associates come to work each day, "just a paycheck" is the most frequent answer. If we think deeper, we realize people come to work to provide for themselves and loved ones, to make their lives better, for a sense of accomplishment, to contribute to a community of like-minded colleagues, to grow, to inspire their children to work hard for the things they want, and more.

A great organization instills a DNA of great purpose to its employees and teams. Each day when a person arrives at work, they should know exactly what they are working towards - both for the organization's success and their personal success.

If your organization doesn’t have a stated purpose, create one. Make sure it’s written, displayed for everyone to see, enforced, and discussed regularly.

2.

Help everyone understand their goals related to their role.

Have you ever played a game of basketball, volleyball, ping pong, or any competitive game without keeping score? If you have, I'm sure you didn't compete to the best of your ability because there wasn't a consequence of losing or a sense of pride upon winning.

Players compete harder when there is a scoreboard and winning/losing at stake. Be transparent about individual and organizational goals, and give your employees some independence to reach those goals.

3.

Celebrate victories & cheer each other on.

When we invest nearly 1/2 of our waking hours to an organization, our hard work deserves recognition and celebration. The harder we work (leading during a crisis, lots of overtime hours, high production demands, annual reports due, dealing with high turnover), the more an occasional celebration can keep everyone engaged and encouraged.

Sometimes the most impactful way to recognize an associate’s hard work is to express a sincere “thank you” as often as possible. It's also a good idea to follow up with occasional gestures of appreciation as well: Take them out to lunch, let them leave a little early on Friday, bring doughnuts and coffee into work, or praise them in front of everyone during a meeting.

Frequently remind associates how much you appreciate their performance, and encourage your managers, supervisors, and teammates to show more appreciation as well.

(This blog was written by Nick Sherwood for the Navigator Leadership Corporation.)

Contact us at info@nav2lead.com to learn more about creating a vibrant, productive organization through on site leadership development.

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