People are social human beings who react emotionally to events. At work, emotions are often put on the back burner. People focus on their tasks instead. They therefore work task-oriented. But emotions cannot simply be ignored. They are always there, beneath the surface. This is why people respond differently to the same event. Responses are the result of unconscious patterns, assumptions and personal values.
Use emotions, don’t exclude them
When a team is not ‘in sync’, it is often because there are issues beneath the surface. For example, a team member does not agree with a management decision. He feels so demotivated by this that his work suffers. Or someone has the assumption that 'pretence' is anti-social and therefore takes a half-hearted attitude in his or her task as project leader, because they’re afraid to ‘favor’ someone from their team. The ability to talk about this, can quickly clear the air and everyone can continue with the project with confidence and pleasure. You can’t ignore emotional reactions so you might as well use them as a motivator or connector. So always be prepared to talk about emotions, assumptions and values.
Positive stress due to shared values
In most organizations and project teams, personal responsibility is now put first. Organizations assume that well-qualified, professional and involved employees will let you know when they have questions or suggestions for improvement. Do you put the needs of your customers first? Then you cannot impose a jungle of rules. 'Checking' is old-fashioned. Inspiring people with 'values' can be a driving force. Linking the organization's ‘why’ to someone’s personal motivation: ‘why do I get out of my bed?‘.
'Who do we want to be for our customers?'
This question for example, can be answered by 4 core values: speed, respect, attention and quality. Having these 4 values in mind with every customer can be very motivating and can result in very satisfied customers, often leading to new customers.
People become curious, innovative and proactive
Communicating clearly what the underlying intention of the organization or a project is can put employees in a 'High Performance' state. In this state a lot of positivity and good energy is activated. People become curious, innovative and proactive. However, it is important to know that after this experience people should take the time to rest well. Because it takes almost as much energy as a negative stress experience does.
Develop a 'winners' mindset
'Winning at all costs' usually results in a short-lived and therefore not very sustainable result. But every game you play gets more exciting when you want to win together. Do you try hard to motivate people? And to connect team members and make sure they trust each other? Then they are more prepared to learn quickly when they don’t perform well. A transparent, confrontational performance management report then becomes a motivating factor. A clear goal with a challenge just above everyone's 'ability' and an 'open' culture can be the oil between the parts.
De Baak is dedicated to the human side of enterprise. Our aim is to enable leaders and entrepreneurs to make a positive, long-term impact on the lives of individuals, society, planet and profit.
We offer tailor-made training courses and an open program, Transparent International Leadership, for leaders in intercultural (international) organizations. Please contact us for more information: +31(0)343-556369 or advice@debaak.com.
We are de Baak. The training institute for leadership and personal development for highly educated professionals. Our intensive and interactive programs challenge you or people in your organization from a place of intellect and intuition.
If you would like your whole organization to learn, look at our Tailor-Made page. If you're interested in an individual training, consider
Transparant International Leadership.
Want to know what De Baak can do for your organization or for you? Please contact us by phone +31 343 55 63 69, or chat with us when we are online (see the bottom-right corner).