POP!

All employers, companies, and leaders want their people to approach their work with Purpose, Ownership and Passion or what I call POP.

Ask any business owner, Chief Human Resource Officer or CEO and they will all tell you their people are fundamentally their most important differentiator in the marketplace. They will all tout their employees as their #1 priority, asset and investment. They will all speak in terms of creating a work environment that is engaging, challenging and inclusive and while all of that is true and very important none of it can happen, at least to the full extent without addressing the fundamental foundation that any great culture is built; Safety and Security.

No employee can be fully engaged, fully focused or fully engulfed in their work without the feeling of safety and security or more specifically a sense of belonging. People cannot approach their work with 100% Purpose, Ownership and Passion without first feeling a strong sense of belonging. Passion is a force multiplier and the key to discretionary effort, innovation and engagement. Yet, passion can’t happen without positively addressing the 3 questions all employees ask themselves constantly about their organization:

1. Are we safe? 2. Are we connected? 3. Do we have a future?

We talk a lot about the importance of culture and yet so many fall short of building a great culture because they lack the courage it takes to constantly make their people the #1 priority in terms of belonging. Too often we give in to the pressures surrounding the near-term results that we dilute our future by sacrificing the safety and security of our people.

When our people are pre-occupied with their belonging they cannot focus on their best effort and they surely cannot be passionate about what they are doing and why they are doing it. REMEMBER: no one shows up to be a Zero, we all want to be a Hero. A lack of safety and security or at least the perception triggers our “lizard brain” into a fight or flight mode, limiting our ability to proactively focus on our purpose with ownership and passion while causing unnecessary anxiety. Every employee (human being) has 6 basic needs they must have addressed in order to feel safe and secure:

1. Certainty 2. Contribution 3. Significance 4. Connection 5. Progress 6. Diversity

If you truly want to build a powerhouse organization then you must address the basic human needs through belonging signals, communication strategies, feedback loops, hiring processes, onboarding practices and most importantly leadership. In fact, of all the things an organization can do to make employees feel safe and secure, it is the leadership's ability to be transparent and authentic that serves as the biggest catalyst.

Arguably we have 4 generations (silent, boomers, X & millennials) within the workplace and all approach, view, and conduct work differently. Our goal as leaders is to find common ground in which to instill a sense of trust through a powerful vision delivered in a transparent and vulnerable manner. We can't have results that meet/exceed expectations without accountability, commitment, and open debate. None of that is possible without TRUST and trust is built through belonging.

Every company, large or small has a Mission & Vision statement along with a list of shared values but what about a stated “Just Cause” for their people? For example; “We will create a safe environment where our people can do the best work of their lives.” That statement lets the employee know they are highly valued and above all else, they are the priority triggering an initial sense of belonging while ensuring the leadership team stays focused on delivering the Just Cause every day and in every action. Any generation (person) can relate to this Just Cause and any leadership team can deliver on its promise through POP.

We all want a high-performance team like the All Blacks, a professional rugby team and the most winningest pro team in all of sports with a 77% win rate over 103-year history. In the past few years, they have maintained a +94% win rate. When you think in terms of players, coaches, managers and front office personnel coming and going it is simply remarkable what the All Blacks franchise has accomplished over the years and they did it by building a winning culture of belonging.

In this worldwide, highly competitive market where technology has the ability to change and create whole industries overnight, it is our people that determine the well-being of the company. It is ironic that the owners, shareholders and board members expect the employees to do their best work and help ensure the safety and security of the organization but what is often missed is the safety and security of the people doing the work. I believe intentions by most companies around fulfilling our need for belonging are well intended but the ongoing execution is lacking.

One company that addressed this basic human need head-on is NeXTJump where employees can’t be fired. Imagine the security and safety that gives an employee from day one. Building a safe and secure environment where people can do the best work of their lives isn’t brain surgery, but it isn’t easy either. Getting caught up in the quarter’s performance, latest fire drill or newest challenge can easily distract leadership from our top priority, our people. That is why a Just Cause is so important to keeping our people front and center.

Ultimately it is up to the Owner or CEO to set the direction, tone and pace of the culture. To do this requires transparency and the willingness to be vulnerable. As a leader showing your authentic self in a meaningful and caring way gives the people within your organization the permission to be themselves. As the leader admitting when you are wrong, have made a mistake or screwed up allows your people to fail without fear and that is key if you want your people at their creative best and delivering on POP!

Net/net; what is holding back most organizations from achieving POP across its culture and building a high-performance team is the ego surrounding leadership. Our ego gets in the way of us being authentic, transparent and vulnerable. It gets in the way of us being in the moment, engaging in a meaningful manner and connecting with our people. It limits our ability to care about what’s most important, our people. The ego is insecure, self-preserving and self-serving; that stands in dark contrast to building a safe and secure workplace. Take your ego out of the equation and watch your company thrive!

More on ego-free leadership in a soon to be posted article. For now, know that POP helps ensure your companies success and you can’t have POP without creating an environment of safety, security and belonging and you can’t deliver on that core foundation if you can’t set aside the ego when leading. After all, greatness is found in the moment and that’s the one place the ego cannot thrive.