is for direction.
This is the fourth post of my Employee Morale From A-Z series, and D is for direction. The importance of direction was included in my previous post, C is for Clarity, in a list of things that must be clarified for employees: The goals they are working toward, and how those goals contribute to the organization’s mission.
One of my favorite sayings is, “If the boat misses the harbor, it’s not the harbor’s fault.” In a nutshell, this explains the importance of providing employees with clear direction.
It can be accomplished pretty easily:
1. Review your organization’s mission statement with all leaders (and possibly from some or all employees, depending on the size and culture of your company).
2. With input from the group you met with in step one above, determine specific, measurable company goals (preferably, no more than 4 or 5) that support the mission. If appropriate, embed milestone goals/dates to help track progress. The best goals are a bit of a stretch, but absolutely attainable.
2. Discuss the mission and goals with everyone. Get feedback and encourage conversation.
3. Ask all direct supervisors (president, director, manager, supervisor alike) to challenge their direct reports to come up with specific, measurable goals for themselves that support one or more of the company’s goals. As a pair, review what the employee has come up with and tweak as necessary. (Note that some jobs may impact every goal; others may have responsibilities that impact some but not all of the company goals.)
4. Ensure that all those in a supervisory role (president on down, as in #3 above) are regularly (minimum: monthly) talking with direct reports about their progress toward individual goals.
5. Share company-wide progress toward goals quarterly at the very least; monthly is preferable.
6. When an employee achieves an individual goal, celebrate! How about lunch, or at the very least, a sincere note of thanks?
7. Celebrate milestones reached toward company goals in a small way; celebrate the successful achievement of a company-wide goal in a big way!
Do this, and your organization’s boats will never miss the harbor.