22 Keys to Creating a Meaningful Workplace -- Part 2
The Mission Keys
| Purpose |
| Direction |
| Relevance |
| Validation |
Purpose
Pose some purposeful Questions:
What do you do on a week-to-week basis?
Who's on the receiving end of this work you do?
How do your customers benefit from your work?
How does all this fit into the big picture?
Starting a conversation on purpose
The Pitfalls of Statement Writing
Not everyone needs a mission statement -- think in terms of mission conversations.
With ongoing conversation, people are always exploring and reaching deeper levels of understanding.
Some Tough Love Regarding Purpose
Possible responses:
| I don't have any customers. |
| I might have customers, but I don't know who they are. |
| My work simply isn't important. |
| My work used to be important, but technology has made it irrelevant. |
| I feel like a drone. |
| Everyone here is so focused on making money; I can't see any other purpose. |
| The people around me don't care about purpose or mission or making a difference or whatever you want to call it. |
Are You Obsessed with Your Customers?
Dare People to Make More of a Difference
It is important that people commit to at least one action.
Direction
Purpose answers the "why" questions. Direction is all about making more of a difference tomorrow. It answers the "what" questions.
Approaches to Direction Setting:
| Country-club approach No shared vision |
| Event approach Lack of dialogue keeps people from getting closer to the vision. |
| Bureaucratic approach Direction setting is done because it's required and not because it's desired. |
| Glossy approach An exercise in marketing and public relations |
| Left-Brain-Only approach The direction ends up being woefully limited. |
| Negative approach The organization risks doing the wrong thing better and better. |
Making Everyone a Navigator
When it comes to setting direction, everyone should be a navigator.
It's All About Dialogue
When people have the freedom to come together, and when they have the clarity and courage to share their own personal vision, a group can begin to develop a collective vision.
Bring It Down to Earth
General questions:
| What is your own personal vision for the future? |
| What kind of future do we want to create for ourselves and our customers? |
| Who else needs to be included in our vision of the future? You can "complete" the vision statement, but you and others are always pursuing the vision itself. |
| What goals and objectives will move us closer to our picture of the future? |
Beating Back Bureaucracy
Red-tape warnings:
| Goals and objectives have to go through an exhaustive approval process. |
| Vision statements must conform to specific requirements regarding word count, word choice, and formatting. |
| There are restrictions on how to use and where to post vision statements. |
| Other guidelines "strongly recommend" the types of people who should be involved in direction setting. |
| A written memo instructs managers to submit a certain number of goals by a certain date. |
| A detailed "documented procedure" spells out exactly how the "strategic planning process" should unfold. |
The Power of One
You can take a step toward making yourself a direction-setting partner.
Relevance
Does it Meet the Relevance Criteria:
"I'm Going to Stop It Now"
"But It's Still Important"
"My Colleagues Expect It"
Keeping Relevance on the Agenda
"The Organization Makes Me Do It"
Three likely irrelevance suspects:
Validation
"I just wish I could step back and see the real impact of all my efforts."
Getting Out of the Box
Use these diagnostic questions to assess your own situation:
| Do you sometimes feel cut off from the product or service that your work helps create? |
| Are you so buried in the beginning or middle of a process that you rarely see the output at the end of the process? |
| Ever get the feeling that you're the "employee in a bubble?" |
Soaking Up the Moment
| Who is better off because of my work? |
| How are they benefiting? |
| How will they benefit in the future? |
"You've Got to See These Results!"
Track Goals and Give Yourself Credit
Hearing from Your Customers
Hit the Road and See for Yourself
Adjusting Schedules and Attitudes