The Pursuit ofā€¦ Purpose!

Over the years, I’ve referenced the preamble to the Declaration of Independence numerous times in articles on our website as well as lessons in our Leading At The Next Level program. Just in case it’s not fresh in your mind, I’ll share it once more here - directly from the ...

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Providing a Clear Picture of Their Purpose

Earlier, we looked at how important it is for anyone in a leadership role to paint a clear picture of the organizational purpose they’re working toward so each member of their teams could have something tangible to connect with. While that was a broad reference that I only touched on in...

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Identifying Their Approach

Once we’ve been intentional about adjusting the pace we use to help each of our team members latch onto a purpose that drives them and yields engagement, we can shift our attention to the second piece of the pattern that Marston identified; is our team member more focused on the task at...

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Determining the Proper Pace

Verbalizing a specific purpose that each of our team members identify and connect with can play a critical role in earning that 57% increase in discretionary effort that I referred to throughout What’s KILLING Your Profitability? (It ALL Boils Down to Leadership!) and several times as...

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Following a Pattern

As we work to verbalize a purpose each of our team members find fulfillment in and connect with, something they can rally around as a genuine purpose in their life, it won’t be as simple as throwing the proverbial mud against the wall and hoping something sticks. This will require us to be...

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Verbalizing the Purpose Theyā€™re Driven By

Please don’t mistake me referring to something as being simple for thinking that I’m saying it will be easy. Even when we’ve invested the time to listen to what our team members are telling us and we’ve paid close attention to what their behaviors are showing us,...

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Seeing the Big Picture

When we cast a vision we know requires more teamwork than our people are currently demonstrating, leaders need to message The Big Picture. The team must hear that the goal is more important than the role and help their people see the big picture. 

Everyone on the team matters. The more we...

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Why the Mismatch?

The things we learn by asking our team members the right questions, and actually investing the time to listen to their replies, and by intentionally observing their behaviors provide a tremendous framework for understanding what makes them tick - even with the occasional mismatch between what...

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Actions Tell the Rest of the Story

As a kid growing up, or even as an adult, how many times have you said this to someone (or heard it said); “Action speaks louder than words!”? Anytime I hear that in my head, it’s in the voice of Margaret from the original “Dennis the Menace” series or Judy Hensler...

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Becoming a Trained Observer

I frequently reference the time where I was responsible for the behavior-based safety process in the manufacturing facility I worked for locally, as well as the support I provided other sites across North America, but I don’t think I’ve ever shared much about my initial exposure to...

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Are We Asking the Right Questions?

When we’ve been intentional about really listening to what our team members share with us, there’s generally no shortage of information to process. The key is often in sifting through it all to find the pieces that matter most; to them as individuals as well as for us to understand...

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Are We Really Listening?

OK, it’s time for complete transparency… How often have you asked someone how they’re doing and prayed their response was limited to just one word? So maybe you didn’t come to a complete stop and get done on one knee, but I’m guessing you’ve definitely had a...

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