Friedrich nietzsche
“He who has a why, can bear almost any how.”
The more I am blessed with working with organizations helping them go from where they are to where they want to be, the more I am reminded of how important the WHY is! If we understand WHY, then understanding where we are going, what we are doing, and how we are going to get there make much more sense.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t even know WHY they have me do this.” I’m not sure WHY we keep doing this, it doesn’t really do anything to help us.” I guess I’ll go finish before I leave but I don’t know WHY it is so important that it gets done today.” Not knowing WHY erodes the passion of doing our best. Not knowing WHY steals the creativity of each team mate to look beyond this task and maybe consider how to do more or make what we do even better.
Do you know what I hear that is even worse than “I don’t know WHY”? “Just do it.” “Just get it done.” “WHY do you have to always ask so many questions?” “I wish people would just show up and do their job!” Wow! How about those most inspiring comments? Really gets you fired up to go and crush it doesn’t it? LOL
So what can we do? First, we in leadership or management must understand WHY we do this. WHY are we in business? What are we passionate about? What is our purpose as an organization? What impact or results are we after? What is our timeline to start achieving our results? How do we measure our results so we can adjust and improve? Then, once we have answered all these questions, we bring our teams in and we share the journey. We share the WHY. we ask for input, ideas, suggestions, thoughts and then we challenge each other to go crush it! Then we stop briefly every week and review our progress or lack of progress. We assemble the team, adjust and then challenge to go crush it again.
Remember, our job as leaders, owners and managers is to CREATE AND MAINTAIN ENVIRONMENTS WHERE OUR PEOPLE CAN ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE. Our job is to create rock stars. Always asking if our team has the correct training. The correct equipment. The correct software or hardware. That they have clarity on what they are doing and WHY, and what results they should be achieving. If there is anything holding them back, it is our job to correct, add or take away, and adjust.
You got this. Spend an hour or two over the next 2 weeks and make sure you are clear on WHY. Your leadership team or managers are clear on WHY. Your team mates are clear on WHY. then, remove the obstacles, measure, meet and adjust.
Order a copy of my book CHOICES to get you started. https://www.choiceconsultingman.com/books/