Co-creating a proud and engaged organization

Just tell me I’m (b)right

I still see the complete setting in front of me: the illuminated room on the 5th floor of the brand new building and about 15 blank faces glaring at me. 

It was supposed to be a positive session: we had just successfully finished the delivery of a first country and were going to start on the next country. I thought it would be a good idea to have a ‘lessons learned’ session to see where we could improve before getting started on the next country. My senior manager also thought it was a good idea and told me to come prepared for the session with my own insights. 

So, as a good soldier, I did what I was told and I had prepared my own ‘lessons learned’ for the project so far. The session was a complete nightmare! I was standing there, talking about my findings and I could literally hear the team thinking 

‘yeah, that was obvious, did you figure that out all by yourself?’ 

or 

‘blah, blah, blah, that’s not even half of it, xxx is even so much more important’ 

or 

‘whatever, I don’t really care, you don’t even ask me anyway’

Two long hours later, I was feeling completely depleted and exhausted and so was my team. 

I had made the stupid mistake of basically asking my team to tell me that I was right and bright. While all I should have asked them was to help me create the next-level approach for our next country delivery. 

One does not discover new lands, without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time - André Gide

To build a nest and raise the kids in a co-creative way

Turtledoves are much more creative when it comes to co-creation. They build their nest together: they both go looking for the best branches and the softest moss to create the best nest for their eggs. And when the small birds get out of their eggs, mom and dad change duties all the time. When one of them is searching for food, the other one is watching the kids and then they change responsibilities. 

It is about taking responsibility, but it is as much about giving responsibility. They are both resourceful in their own way and they complement each other in their duties.   

Co-creating a proud and engaged organisation 

So, what 5 lessons can leaders learn from turtledoves and my mistakes in that meeting room? (yes, the ‘lessons learned’ joke is intentional ;-) )

1. Asking for input

Asking people for their input is an immediate shot of engagement and responsibility that you are providing to your team members. When they provide input for a project, solution, plan, strategy, or anything else, they feel they are part of the created solution and they will feel engaged with it. 

2. Taking and giving responsibility

When you, as a leader, are taking responsibility for what is happening, but are also giving responsibility to your team members to take ownership of ideas, tasks, workstreams, etc. they will amaze you. They will feel empowered and will show you things you wouldn’t have thought were possible. 

It is true that when you give responsibility, the end result will not always be 100% in line with what you had in mind. But let’s be honest here: who says your idea is always better? 

Btw, giving responsibility does not mean dumping items on your team members. It means that they are owning the item for which you give them responsibility, but you are still to help and support them and to reflect together with them.

If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more - Erica Jong

3. Creating intrinsic motivation for your team members

Do you remember that time when you were not told or asked to do something, but you did something because you yourself thought it was a good idea? How motivated were you at that moment? 

That’s exactly what you create for your team members when you ask them to co-create together with you. They are an intrinsic part of the solution, so they believe in it much more and are much more motivated to work on it. 

4. Making team members proud of their contribution

Then of course, when your team succeeds in what they had set forward, they feel so proud. But they feel even more proud, because some of the ideas were their own and they were able to take full ownership of the realisation of the ideas. 

Although some might say that money or rewards are the best way of engaging and motivating employees, I strongly believe that 

• providing them with learning opportunities and 
• challenging them to rise above their own expectations and 
• feeling proud of their contributions 

are the most powerful motivators. So make them proud of themselves!

5. Building your company together

The beauty of all of this is that by co-creating, you are building the company together. People feel like they are part of the company and that they have been part of building the company. You create a cohesiveness and a willingness to collaborate to create the best version of the company in the future.

The journey is the destination

What do you need to start co-creation? 

I would be curious to hear your stories about co-creation or the challenges that you are facing during your attempts at co-creation. 

If you would like to get started on co-creation, but could use some support or if you strongly believe in co-creation, but seem to be stuck at some point, please reach out to Mpower Coaching Consulting. 

Just Shine! That’s my motto at Mpower. I believe that your company, your project, your team and yourself have all the intrinsic potential to be awesome and shine. At Mpower, I will provide you with all support and tools to bring out the awesomeness that’s already there. 

The origin of the series

When I started working as a freelancer in September 2018, I knew immediately that I wanted to do some things differently. I didn’t only want to have an impact on organisations, but also on individual people. And people were coming to me for advice anyway, so I decided I wanted to be a coach. 

It was only a small step – I thought – to work also as a coach. But with a background as a civil engineer, I did think that I needed some proper education, so that’s how I started on my rollercoaster journey of becoming an officially certified coach. 

Over the coming weeks, I would like to share with you my biggest learnings from this experience. I have collaborated with a great artist, Marcel Rouffa, who has made very nice drawings to reflect my learnings. 

Enjoy the journey, the drawings and the reading!

Other articles in the series

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