If you could only pass on one piece of Business advice to your grandchildren, and you knew with absolute certainty that they would follow that advice throughout their time in business, what would that advice be?

Everything in business must begin with understanding why – why am I doing this, why does it matter, why do I want to have this impact in the world?  Yet, in many cases we get busy asking ourselves “HOW” we change things.  This is usually borne out of difficulties or challenges, when asking the “how” question simply increases the size and perception of the scarcity or lack that promoted the question in the first place.  In order to create change, we then decide to take some action, any action, to increase the possibility of a better outcome.  This then leads to increases in motivation, which in turn, adds to us taking more action.  The challenge comes when we simply increase the “how” generated action and motivation, without objective reflection on the value of the action, which effectively has us sucked into the Action Vortex!  In a business, as in life, this leads to lots of action, though often with limited results.

By contrast, if we ask ourselves the “WHY” question, we are more likely to connect to what inspires us, what “calls to us” and therefore what puts us into greater flow.  When we are inspired and inspiring, we get into a state of attraction, which leads to greater inspiration and in turn, creates even greater attraction.  At this end of the spectrum, our actions are far more powerful and our leadership attracts people and opportunities that build our success and increase the positive impact we can make in our business and the world.

It is important to understand the WHY behind what we are doing, as this sets the framework for our higher purpose and is at the core of all we do.  Your “Big Why” gives you clarity about the essential energy that must be in all things for you to be successful, content and in “flow”.  Knowing your own “why” and that of each of your team members will ensure you access the greatest sense of flow in the work you do, which in turn, adds to the development of a positive business culture and a sense of shared purpose for you, your team and those you serve.  The “why” behind what you are doing usually reflects your values.

Values are the principles or standards by which we live and work. They are fundamentally important to us in that they influence our actions and choices and drive what we do and how we do it. It is also fair to say the way we understand ourselves and the world is viewed through the “filter” of our values and therefore, they inform the way we create meaning from our experiences.

Our values help us to determine whether our actions are right or wrong, effective or ineffective, and this same filtering process is applied to all aspects of our business and life. Our values will also inform the way we judge other people’s actions as good or bad, right or wrong, helpful or unhelpful and so it is essential that we understand what our values are. Our values can change according to our experience and context, so it is well advised to review them regularly to ensure they support you – your work, relationships and understanding of yourself.

Creating a business that is in alignment with our highest values will increase our effectiveness and success.  Knowing the values of our team members and braiding this with the values of the business will also add to our effectiveness and is a cornerstone of strong leadership.

In this context, leadership is the ability to understand people and inspire them to work toward an agreed and mutually enrolling vision or goal, the benefits of which are felt by those we serve, the members of the team and the broader business.  Management is more focussed on the administration, systems and processes that ensure accountability and quality control. Therefore, it is the work of the true leader that creates INSPIRATION.  These are some of the keys to great leadership:

Why – Strong leaders know the WHY behind what they do and understand the importance of knowing the WHY of each member of their team.  They also know that being able to enrol and feed into each team member’s big why and braid this with the organizations WHY is crucial to team cohesion and individual satisfaction and achievement.

Certainty – Great leaders possess confidence and clarity, borne of self-awareness.  Furthermore, this certainty is contagious. Team members are naturally drawn to them, seek their advice, and feel more confident as a result. When challenged, they remain open to new ideas and perspectives.  They are confident that their ideas, opinions and choices are well-informed and reflect the collective view because they know their people!  Strong leaders may make mistakes, but when this is discovered, they take responsibility and look to the opportunity for shared learning and act to change things quickly.

Growth – Extraordinary leaders focus on the growth and development of their team. This means they learn the best ways to acknowledge, support, encourage and challenge each member, to ensure the highest possible level of engagement.  The development of a culture of learning is essential and a powerful leader will create and hold a supportive environment, where people feel able to share their mistakes in the interests of shared learning and growth.

Accountability – Extraordinary leaders take responsibility for everyone’s performance, especially their own. They have a strong capacity for insightfulness and will check in with themselves to see what the learning is in any situation and what (if anything) they can do to provide stronger leadership in the future.  From this place, they will then look outward to ensure the accountability of others.  This adds to a culture of personal responsibility that allows team members to hold each other more accountable.

Communication – True leaders recognize that effective communication begins with listening.  The capacity to ask great questions and explore unvisited aspects of the thoughts, feelings and inspirations of team members, is evident in strong leaders.  They also have the ability to “listen beyond the words” to discover the values, beliefs and inspirations of their team.  Speaking into the “listening” of each person increases understanding and cohesion and builds trust.  Recognizing the patterns of interaction between team members and ensuring these are positive and growth promoting is also at the forefront of the contribution of an extraordinary leader.

Optimism – True leaders are a source of positive and persistent energy, often borne of the knowledge that they are doing what they were born to do. They generally communicate easily and in a manner that inspires. They operate from an open-hearted place and are genuinely interested in other people’s welfare and growth. They seem wired to create solutions and always know what to say to inspire, uplift or reassure. Importantly, they also know the difference between motivating team members (a force from behind) and inspiring them (a force from in front) to reach for greater outcomes.

Transparency – Strong leaders treat others the way they wish to be treated and avoid hiding things, even those of a personal nature. They are extremely ethical and believe that honesty, integrity and transparency form the foundation of success. They know and embody their own and the organisation’s values, such that employees are inspired by their example of how to live by their highest values. They share information openly and enrol team members in decision-making whenever possible.  If required, they are also able to make decisions that may not be popular but provide a clear context for why the decision was made that way.

Focus – Great leaders recognize the importance of planning ahead and the value of being well organized. They explore multiple scenarios and the possible impacts of their decisions while considering viable alternatives and consulting with appropriate people. They then make plans that create the greatest possible success for all concerned.   They then create clear strategies, systems and processes to ensure high performance is tangible, easily defined, and monitored. They communicate their plans effectively to ensure maximum enrolment of team members in achieving goals.

Inspiration – Powerful leaders are clear about what inspires them and stay connected to this.  They articulate their highest values and are clear about how to live in accordance with them.  They know themselves well and value the practice of self-reflection and life-long learning.  They communicate clearly, concisely, and consistently and in a manner that inspires everyone to be and give their best to mutual benefit. They challenge their people by setting high and attainable standards and expectations – modelled by their own behaviour – and then give the support, tools, training, scope and autonomy to pursue those goals and become the best employees they can possibly be, so they feel a greater sense of achievement and success, the organization grows and those they serve feel and sense a genuine difference.  Inspirational leaders recognize that the greatest outcomes for all concerned are borne out of braiding individual endeavour with the organisational endeavour and serving the unique needs, wants and inspirations of those to whom they provide service.

What makes you keep returning to the same hairdresser or barber? It may seem like a silly question, however, it’s a good example of why you keep the friendships you have.

1. Input – by this we’re looking at the cost or investment made. In a hairdressing situation, you may be happy if it is a cheaper price compared to the competition. In friendships, think about the time invested in the relationship to make it work.
2. Outcome – Why go back to a hairdresser if the haircut wasn’t good last time? There is a preference to find something you desire. Same as with friendships, does it meet your needs? Or are you left feeling upset (sounds like a bad haircut to me).
3. Familiarity – Sometimes the fear of venturing out to find a new hairdresser can be terrifying. What if the new hairdresser gives a horrible haircut? Maybe it’s safer to stay with what you know? Friendships can be the same, to the extent that even if you are being treated horribly your expectation of anything new is that it will be similar or worse. This does work in the other direction additionally. You may stay with this friendship because you have created a
   connection that you feel accepted and understood.

Have a look at how you interact with your hairdresser or the reason you choose them each time.

Your reasoning may be the exact same way that you interact with the rest of the people in your life and why you place value on them. If you’re in business the same mindset might be holding you back from the potential of new clients.

Take time for yourself to outline what values you hold based on Input, Outcome and Familiarity.

Whatever the answer is, that’s okay. This isn’t set in stone and you have the freedom to create a new frame/goal for the future.

Learn from it and grow.

Do you show up at work the way you show up in life? Does your teams’ actions reflect your company values? Do your employees walk the business’s talk?

We have all worked for companies with great Mission Statements, Vision Statements and listed Values. But have the actions of individuals and teams within the organisation been in true alignment with what the company believes is important? I have worked in a number of different positions in a number of different companies in my life, but never before has integrity been such a focus within the workplace as it is within The Elevation Company. We have truly created a culture of Integrity, by developing systems, rituals, activities and connections that keep us accountable to both the business’s values and our own.

We have a fundamental belief that all any of us really wants is to be known, loved, seen and got for who we truly are.  We live by this belief as we encourage continual personal growth and awareness both internally within our team and externally with our clients. We practice bringing our Big Why energy to each day. We are allocated responsibilities and conditions of success, based on our individual values, our Flow requirements and Unique Points of Inspiration. We are lovingly challenged when our Default Dramas show up to teach us something about ourselves.  Difficult conversations are reframed as ‘necessary conversations’ and because we share the knowledge of our values, beliefs, gifts… and even our primary Love Language, we can effectively to speak into each other’s listening. As a result … we ‘get’ …. and are ‘got’.

So what is it like to work in a business where we work and live in the exact way we teach and support our clients to do? To turn up each day as our most authentic selves, where vulnerability is celebrated and we are understood on so many levels? Can you even imagine it? Lucky for me, I don’t need just imagine it! <3

 

Do you call, email, text, instant message, direct message?

Fax, post a letter, or go really old school and have a face to face chat?

What are the various lines of communication in your organisation and when is it appropriate to use them?

Our office has four generations – Baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and a Millennial for good measure. Think about how communication has evolved for each of these groups.

The Boomers thought faxes revolutionised the business world, then they got emails. The Millennial can construct a life story in 140 characters or less, and has never seen a fax machine let alone used one.

Consider how this impacts communication in the workplace.

Not only are there multiple channels, there are different views on what is appropriate for each.

Is it OK to text in sick? In our team yes. At previous places I have worked, no.

Should you email a client versus calling? My preference would always be a call but in today’s age of keyboard warriors, not everyone is so comfortable doing so.

Can you send company notes over instant messaging? For me it depends on the note. Informal messages or shout outs I would say yes, formal documents I would say no.

What is the place of face to face meetings? This could be, and has been by others, a whole post in itself. In our time poor days, face to face meetings can seem like an inconvenience but I believe are a necessary component to building team engagement.

And herein lies the challenge – so many channels, so many messages, so many users.

The key is getting your organisation to:

1. a) agree on what channels should be used for what purposes, and then
2. b) adhering to it.

Much easier said than done.

I am the first to put my hand up and say it is a work in progress for us. Even though we are a small team, with multiple channels for communication sometimes things get missed.

My default is for face to face communication where possible. I prefer to see my team when I am communicating with them. The circumstances may not always allow for it but I believe our relationship is stronger for a greater level of face to face interaction.

So in the day and age of multiple channels for multiple messages, how do you “talk” to your team?

 

 

 

Several years ago, I was providing consulting overseas to a very interesting business doing innovative things in the tech space.  The company was full of excitable young people who were incredibly enthusiastic about what they were building and the fact that it was creating “industry first” technology that had the capacity to change the way we live.  I’m of the slightly older generation who find technology very helpful and yet slightly terrifying, but their enthusiasm was infectious and so I accepted the assignment.

The leader of this business was a beautiful and generous soul who adored his team like the children he never had.  His leadership style was very inclusive and facilitative, and this endeared him to his young charges.  Upon the commencement of our engagement, he proudly shared with me that he looked for the enthusiasm in his staff when recruiting and indeed, every day in the workplace.  You could literally feel the level of enthusiasm in the team and building.

Then an interesting thing began to happen.  Whilst enthusiasm was at an indescribable high and his staff review processes indicated very high staff engagement, the financial success of the company began to decline and over time to stall.  In short, this was the result of low levels of accountability, so while people were excited about coming to work and what they were doing, there were few deliverability and accountability structures in place to ensure the team’s activity delivered on its promises. 

Several things impacted the creation of this situation, but key among them was the principle that the fish swims from the head down.  What I mean by that is that the business owner and Manager came to work each day looking for the enthusiasm and excitement in his team…..and he found it.  What he wasn’t “looking for” in the same way was the accountability for outcomes and this was hurting his business.

Leadership is all about knowing what to look for and ensuring you get the appropriate “bandwidth” of perspective to enable you to be well informed about every aspect of the business required to work well to create success.  Once we created a dashboard of “success indicators” and shifted the business owners’ focus, things began to turn around, as there was emphasis being placed on all aspects of the flow of operation and development of the business and its people.

Sure, as leaders we can and must place different emphasis on different elements of our business at different times. But we must also remember that the lenses of our glasses define how we see our people, our business and the world around us.  What lenses are you looking through?

 

Are you a GABS Communicator or are you an EAR Communicator?

Many people do not realise that their natural tendencies in having a conversation can break trust and be destructive to the relationships that they have.

The quality of a workplace’s culture and its performance boils down to a few crucial factors. Relationships are a major one.

There are many different types of relationships in the workplace, but the most important ones are those between team members and those between managers and team members.

The better the quality of these relationships, the more team members feel at home and safe to communicate in an open and transparent way.

For example, team members who feel this way are not afraid to ask questions, raise concerns and propose new ideas.

On the other hand, team members who do not feel at home and safe may hesitate to ask questions, because of how they might be perceived and the impact that it could have on their role and subsequent career. For similar reasons, they may not raise concerns or propose new ideas, feeling that they might be shot down instead.

Quality relationships contribute to a positive atmosphere.

What contributes to quality relationships? Well, just take a moment to think about what is the difference between a stranger and an acquaintance, or an acquaintance and a friend, a friend and a best friend?

The major difference is that the more we know about each other, the more we like about each other, and the more we trust each other, the more the quality and proximity of the relationships improves.

What impacts this?

Conversations.

There are different ways of having a conversation, and often, people don’t realise that their natural style of communicating can be negatively impacting their relationships.

GABS Communication

GABS is a simple ‘how not to communicate’ framework.

When we GABS, we:

> Grab the glory

Say a fellow colleague is sharing an accomplishment, when we ‘grab the glory’, we jump in and share our accomplishments or our role in a way that diminishes their efforts.

> Advise

Imagine that a colleague is sharing some ideas. When we ‘advise’, we may jump in over the top, recommending ways of sharing the ideas. We might even share other ideas in a way that leaves our colleague feeling dis-empowered.

> Belittle

When we belittle, we tell others that their ideas or accomplishments are not great at all. We make them ‘little’, not even worthy of telling.

> Side Step

When we sidestep, we change the conversation completely. Your colleague might have asked for constructive feedback on their performance, and instead, you bring up new ideas that can impact the entire team and have nothing to do with specific feedback requested by your colleague.

 —

What is the impact of GABS? Just imagine being on the receiving end, you may likely feel dis-empowered, frustrated and maybe even furious about the behaviour of the other person. Trust in the relationship has been eradicated.

If you are on the giving end of GABS, unless you are completely self-absorbed, you may likely sense the frustration of the receiving party. However, sometimes people who do GABS don’t realise they are doing it.

Transforming GABS into EAR

If GABS is the cause of dis-empowering and trust-eradicating conversations, then EAR is the solution to empowering and trust-building conversations.

EAR stands for:

> Expression

Expression means that your intention is to be with the other person, to listen and have a positive conversation (and to not GABS).

> Attentive Body Language

Your body language is focused on them, not on distractions or things around.

> Repeat Facts

Repeating facts back lets the person know you are listening. Listen genuinely and for what is important.

So What

The quality of our conversations impacts the quality of our relationships. At a workplace level, workplace relationships directly impact trust in the workplace, its culture and, in turn, the performance of your colleagues, team, and the entire organisation.

The first step is to know HOW you are communicating with the people around you. Are you coming from GABS or from EAR? Is your conversation empowering and stimulating growth in your relationship and culture or is it the opposite?

Knowing where you are is crucial. Then you can do something about it.

The question to ask yourself is:

–       Am I empowering or dis-empowering in this conversation?

Know that even when you need to raise an issue or need to give challenging feedback, you can come from either an empowering or dis-empowering position.

If you are not sure, ask someone you trust about how you typically communicate. Sometimes, since we are so used to being ourselves, we can be blind to how our behaviours impact others, so others can help!

Have a play around and let me know your thoughts and experiences from becoming an EAR communicator!

 

Conflict in the work place can get a bad wrap. It can be distracting, zap energy, and pull people off course. However not all conflict deserves to be tainted with the same brush.

Conflict engaged in respectfully and positively can be a catalyst for new ideas, opportunities for learning, and new ways of doing things.

Some might call this collaboration. I feel collaboration is what arises out of conflict. Something has to spark the discussion and conflict can be a good igniter.

The respectfully and positively piece is the challenge.

When we sense conflict in the workplace, most of us duck for cover, keen to avoid any trouble. There are those who bristle and tense up, priming for the action. We all know the type, they thrive on the drama rather than contributing to solutions.

Encouraging staff to show up in conflict with an attitude of respect and positivity means:

• allowing each party the space and time to speak their piece
• listening with an open mind and thoughtfully considering the information
• responding calmly and rationally, focusing on the issue at hand rather than any personal hang ups

Simple right?

If only. To approach conflict in this way takes practice. It takes conscious effort not to fall in to subconscious old habits. It’s effort that is worth investing though.

The new ideas, opportunities for learning, and improvement initiatives sparked from conflict can be business altering.

Conflict is not a dirty word. If handled positively and respectfully, it definitely has a place in the office.

What are the most important conversations in your business?

Poor feedback conversations can kill motivation in your team, and as a result eradicate trust, company loyalty, and individual performance. In the worst case, this ripples onto other team members in the organisation, crippling your culture, brand and overall performance.

Just think about it from a customer’s point of view, if you have a bad experience with an organisation, how likely would you return to use their services?

One bad experience can completely undo the trust that has been built up, creating a toxic atmosphere.

The same applies to team members and internal conversations.

One bad experience can set in motion a chain of events that can hurt company culture and brand badly.

But the reality is that many managers are not trained in how to have feedback conversations that uplift, empower and inspire their team members.

Instead, they risk leaving their team members feeling disappointed, frustrated and abandoned.

Yet, these types of conversations can be completely avoided.

How? By taking into consideration a few key steps to have successful and empowering conversations instead:

–         STOP, PAUSE, PLAY

–         SETUP

–         STRUCTURE YOUR CONVERSATION

STOP, PAUSE, PLAY

First things first, ensure that you are in the right space for the conversation. Ask yourself:

–         Why am I having this conversation?

–         What is my intended outcome?

–         What energy and emotional state do I need to bring to our conversation to reach the intended outcome?

Whether you are giving some small improvement recommendations or whether you need to address a glaring behavioural issue, the energy you bring to the conversation matters massively.

Anger, hostility and fear are going to give your team member a very different experience and motivation than calmness, presence, and support.

Remember that you are having a conversation with a fellow human being.

SETTING UP THE CONVERSATION

Once you are clear on your intended outcome of the conversation and you are in the right space and mindset to conduct the conversation, check in with the person whether now is a good time:

 “I would like to have a positive conversation with you and give you some feedback so you can be more successful in your role, is now a good time to have this conversation?”

Even though it is important to provide feedback as soon as possible, the timing might not be ideal and if it isn’t, the feedback won’t be well received.

If that is the case, allow them space and invite them to suggest when would work better in the next 24 hours.

STRUCTURING YOUR FEEDBACK – OTFD

Now that you are ready to have the conversation, it is important to structure the discussion in a productive manner using the OTFD strategy, an approach that removes blame and minimises defensiveness.

–         Observations

Share your observations, what did you see and hear the other person doing. Think of it as looking at the situation from ‘a fly on the wall’ point of view. This also means there are no judgments (ie. Not saying this is good or bad) when sharing observations, just:

“I saw you do ……, I heard you say …, I saw the other person’s reaction”, etc.

The importance is that you OWN your observations. Other people’s observations can quickly turn into Chinese whispers, which is the worst thing that can happen to quickly destroy any trust and confidentiality between people.

–         Thoughts

What do you think about your observations.  Just as mentioned above… what do YOU THINK (not what other people think) about the observations.

“Given what I saw you do, I think …..”

–         Feelings

Next, share what your emotional response is to the observations and thoughts.

“Given what I observed and thought, I feel ……”

–         Desires

Lastly, share what you desire. What is your intended outcome, what is the desired behaviour you would like to see your team member embrace? Ideally, this is phrased in a observation of the future, in terms of what you wish to see and hear.

“my desire is to ….”

Let’s have a look at some examples, one for giving improvement feedback and one for reinforcing positive behaviour.

EXAMPLE – GIVING IMPROVEMENT FEEDBACK

–         I heard you speaking with your client today and noticed that at least 3 times you spoke over him.

–         I thought that might have been perceived by him as rude behaviour.

–         I feel concerned that he thinks he is not respected as a client.

–         My desire is for you to be mindful of your communication with people and allow them to finish what they have to say, before giving your input.

EXAMPLE – REINFORCING POSITIVE BEHAVIOR

–         I saw you step up and lead the presentation earlier today and I heard your client giving you positive feedback.

–         I thought that was awesome, especially since you were not comfortable to step up like that a few months ago.

–         I feel really proud of you and I am excited about your future.

–         My desire is for you to keep up stepping up like this and keep on growing.

Structuring your feedback in this way helps you to come from a place of support and empowerment and will help you to have uplifting and positive conversations with your team members.

Remember also to check how the other person receives your feedback and make sure there is an agreement in terms of the intended outcomes and next steps.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Performance of any organisation is a direct reflection of that organisation’s culture (how do we behave and communicate with each other and our stakeholders).

Feedback is crucial to enable the company and everyone in the company to keep on growing in order to achieve the company’s purpose and make a positive impact on the world.

Empowering, uplifting feedback conversations are essential to make this happen.

Remember, your energy in communication is everything – it will rub off on the other person.

Indicators of poor conversations:

–         Participants walk away disempowered, negative and unhappy about not only the conversation, but also their future and the other people involved

–         There are no next steps agreed upon or no mutual agreement on the next steps

Indicators of positive, uplifting and empowering conversations:

–         All participants feel empowered and positive about the other people involved, the conversation they just had and the future

–         Specific, measurable, mutually agreed upon next steps

Effective, compassionate leaders are able to get the best out of their team members because of how they communicate and behave. 

Thoughts?

 

Whilst consulting with business leaders, I am often asked, “what does it mean to be a great leader and how can we define that”?  This is a great question and one that’s important to answer as a team if you wish to have a shared definition and therefore, understanding of leadership within your business.

So, what would you say in response if a member of your team asked you that question?

There are thousands of definitions and frameworks for understanding leadership and what makes for a great leader, but my response to such questions tends to have me lean toward the model of family, with which most of us (for better or for worse) are familiar.  In this “model” there are questions that can be really helpful in guiding the development of leadership within your business, such as;

• what makes a family work well?
• what can a parent do to support the smooth running of a family?
• how do other family members contribute their own unique character and skills to that family?
• in what way does the family recognise and celebrate its members and their unique contribution?
• What’s the most effective way for the family to raise and resolve conflicts?
• How does the family deal with external influences or disruptions?
• What are the common values and beliefs that bind the family and create belonging?

Whilst there are multiple answers to these questions and all of them have some validity, I am a firm believer that your answers to these questions can go a great deal of the way to giving you the insights you seek about leadership and its nature.

I firmly believe the human soul is wired to serve, so within my companies, and those with whom I consult, I am attentive to what I like to call the “daily practices”.  It’s all those small things, consistently applied, that make for a great leader.  Being truly present when people speak with you, asking about people’s wellbeing and genuinely being interested in their response, engaging people in the development of their own workflow knowing and speaking into the “listening” of people’s unique individual values, modelling the capacity to self-reflect and vulnerably share mistakes and learnings, making time to truly understand team members and what inspires them, creating a learning culture where calculated risk is encouraged and learning from mistakes is shared openly, ensuring a natural fit between each person’s personal drivers and values and the type of work they do within the business. 

None of this is rocket science, but in our fast-paced world of more, more, more, it’s often the depth and quality of our personal relationships with people that gets ignored.  Yet, the greatest forms of service we can offer through our business is to the very people who make up that business and are the foundation of our ability to serve our clients and customers. 

In simple terms, the answer to what makes a great leader is someone who creates the sense of FAMILY within the people who make up the business.

Where is your next growth spurt?

That’s easy. It’s your people.

Your people are your company’s only unique point of inspiration. They are your competitive edge and your biggest asset. They can also be your biggest liability but that is an entirely different article.

If you want to take your business to the next level, you need to optimise, engage and inspire your people.

The thing about business today is that everyone has access to the same external resources. We can all buy the same technology, we can all implement similar systems, and we can even all do the same MBA.

It is how your people interpret, use and innovate with those technologies, systems and MBAs , that is going give you the edge. Your people are going to deliver your next growth spurt.

So how do you optimise, engage and inspire your workforce? It all sounds sexy and cool and fun to talk about, but in the harsh reality of people turning up day in day out, sitting at the same desk, doing the same role, with the same people, how do you getting them firing on all cylinders?

Find out what is important to them, what is their big why in life. Why do they get out of bed each morning? What is their uniqueness they bring to the world and how can you allow them to contribute it each and every day.

People are most engaged, most innovative, and most creative, when they are given the opportunity to use their strengths and just be who they are, without fear.

At The Elevation Company we talk about this as “being got”.

People just want to be “got” for who they are and the uniqueness they to bring to the world. That’s when the magic happens. That’s when you get innovation, inspiration and growth.

So, if you’re looking for your next growth spurt, looking to take your company to its next greatest height, sit down with your team and “get” them. Ask “What’s your big why in life and how can we help you live it?”