As we approach Christmas, it is natural for us to think of giving, though all too often in material terms.
Well, if you’re a manager, and you’d like to give your employees something that will outlast any cookie basket or gift certificate or desk accessory you can order on-line, then I have just the thing for you.
It is remarkably simple and requires no money. It costs only a little time, and perhaps a bit more courage and vulnerability than managers are sometimes prepared to spend. But trust me, it’s worth it. Here’s what you need to do.
First, get to know your people better than you know them today. Take an interest in what is going on in their lives and find out what their dreams and passions are, both professionally and personally. The only caveat is that you have to be genuinely interested. If you haven’t done this much before and you’re afraid that it will feel weird to start now, do it anyway. Your employees want it, need it and will thank you for it.
Second, talk to them about how their job impacts the lives of others—customers, vendors, colleagues, even you!—in some way, large or small. Help them understand that their work matters, to someone, and that without them, others would suffer.
Finally, help them figure out how to best measure and gauge how effectively they are doing their jobs, especially in terms of the impact they have on others. Give them the ability to determine for themselves whether they are succeeding or not, and free them from depending on your subjective opinion for a sense of accomplishment or esteem.
Now, any one of these things alone would make a nice management gift, but together they become the most important quality any person yearns for in their jobs: fulfillment. Without them, employees cannot help but become miserable
By beginning the process—and it is certainly a process—of removing anonymity, irrelevance and immeasurement from the work lives of your employees, you will be giving your people a gift that will last far beyond this wonderful season, and that will impact their families and friends in profound, life-changing ways.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
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Patrick Lencioni sent the following posts to customers who purchased The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable