"I feel connected to my organization"
How do you feel about this?
Many of us feel that our work-life balance is a bit of a challenge. This
can impact how "connected" or grounded we feel - at work and at home.
Sound familiar?
Many of us feel rushed-around and pulled in many different directions. It's
natural to feel like we're always "running" at full speed non-stop.
But it's not healthy. We can't "connect" and get
perspective when we can't see context and stop to take a breath.
It's very important to feel "grounded" and connected at work and at
home. Today's question asks about our "connectedness" at work.
Ever feel like you don't know what's coming aound the corner at work? Are
you feeling like you're frequently "surprised" at events and task /
project requests and organizational changes?
You're not alone. You're probably being hit with "tunnel
vision." It's common with hard workers.
Great leaders are good at spotting this and help their super-workers avoid
this. It's simpler to alleviate than you might think. The easiest way to
do this is to "over-communicate." If you're a worker that feels
disconnected or out of sync, hang in there!
If you're a leader here's what you can focus on, when you conduct all-hands "info-sessions" and communications
- recap of our company's status, direction and even overall mission
- discuss our group's role and how it contributes to overall company progress
- be specific about daily/weekly/current projects and relate our tasks to company progress
- showcase and celebrate recent wins and achievements, give group and personal credit when possible
- invite group leaders and managers to discuss their projects to the rest of us
- keep people out of their cubes and offices at lunch and get people talking
- recap this in a weekly all-hands communication to keep everyone connected to the group's contributions and successes
If you're a leader, try to do this at least
once a month if not weekly. If you're a co-worker, encourage your team
leaders and company leaders to over-communicate in this way. In fact,
insist on it!
There's no doubt, It's a lot of work to keep a working group or office team
in-touch and connected. But it's the only way you can ensure everyone is
engaged, closely coordinated and highly motivated.
We've broken it down to some simple ways to "over-communicate."
That's one important step.
Group activities, anonymous and frequent group feedback (direct to leadership) and self-direction are steps that great companies and great leaders embrace and encourage.
More on those in another post.