For Different Reasons…

As we’re working to provide our best team members with a reason to stay by fulfilling their need for purpose through the work they do, I’ve never seen this be accomplished more effectively than applying the same idea I referenced to address the high cost of turnover; by breaking the golden rule! But rather than rehashing some of the quick steps we can take to adapt our approach when sharing a message, taking action on The Platinum Rule in these scenarios requires us to do a bit more homework. To be honest though, I’m not sure a leader deserves commitment from great people on their teams if they haven’t been willing to do this simple legwork on the front end; and if not, I’m not sure we should be referring to them as a leader…

The homework I’m suggesting here doesn’t require massive amounts of research. Truth be told, we’ll be able to follow the same basic pattern I outlined before but we will need a bit more time and energy invested in learning what each individual cares most about. Again, if we haven’t already taken that step with our top performers, I’d ask why we really want them to stay… If it’s just for how they impact the bottom line, can we even blame them for considering other options?

Through my work in behavior-based safety as well as the work Cindy and I have done to help teams integrate The Model of Human Behavior into their organizational culture, I’ve learned the two people can do the exact same thing for VERY different reasons. I work some crazy hours to get the most and best results I possibly can, and I get fulfillment from seeing the results that I produce help other people. Cindy works equally long hours to help people by providing precise systems they can follow to achieve results.

Here’s where you’re likely asking “Wes, isn’t that the same reason just in a different order?” Well, kinda… But that different order is the exact point I’m driving! When we’re able to differentiate our team members who love helping others get results from the ones who get results to help others, then tailor our communication with each of them in a way that helps define a purpose in their work that means the most to them as individuals, we’ve taken a significant step toward giving their daily routine more meaning but we’ve also shown them that we value them in a way few other employers will ever be able to duplicate - not so much because of the difficulty but because of the intentionality… 

By doing this, we can effectively tie the tasks they perform to a purpose that provides them with fulfillment. And this also helps to connect the dots with how they’re a critical part of something even bigger so we’ll wrap up our look at the high turnover profitability killer with that next time…