The secret of building a passionate team.
Gauri Palekar
Transforming Workplaces: Designing Positive Culture for Growing Companies.
One fine morning, I was sitting on a sofa and leisurely drinking my morning cup of coffee, when I heard my five-year-old niece call out to me and say “why don’t you come here and play with me? I lazily told her, “baby, I have to finish my coffee, read the paper, take a bath, and then I’m free to play with you”. She made a disappointing face, turned around, and went back to her room to play on her own.
Coffee or toys- what’s what your pick?
Shortly, I rushed to a client's place for my weekly visit. While sitting there, I saw my client agitatedly ask an employee “why aren’t you working on Z project?” to that the employee smugly replied;
“Sir, I have to finish project A, finish a call with a client and then I’ll be free to work on project Z."
My client disappointedly walked back to his seat and complained to me about how his employees are no good and they work only for paycheques.
Suddenly I felt like the morning was no child’s play (pun intended). I could clearly visualize my niece say the same thing about me, perhaps thinking of me as a non-performing member of her family. She may have even rated me low on her scale of performance and favoritism.
Let’s be honest, I could have taken some time off and played with her in the morning, but as much as I love her, playing with toys can sometimes be boring for an adult and there was no motivation for me to do that early in the morning.
Similarly, the employee was not incapable of taking on the extra responsibility, but he did not have the motivation to take on new work. There was no drive and his boss did nothing to make the work interesting. He was dis-empowered and helpless because he wasn’t emotionally connected with his work.
Let’s be honest, work gets monotonous. Add to that the work pressure and a nonexistent work-life balance, all this together make a perfect recipe for boring work life. And the best cover-up in such a case is resistance, the resistance that you are bound to face from employees.
Only a passionate team can get you results.
At the core of any company are the people. When a company is small but growing, building a great team should be a priority.
If an employee does not share the passion and alignment with the company goals that others it causes negative effects.
Bringing together 5, 10, or even 15 people to operate, grow, and expand a small company is no easy task especially for a growing company.
An average team will not build a great company. It takes a united group of passionate people to create something special and take the company ahead.
Are you ready for the success of your company?
As a founder, you take up multiple projects and work relentlessly including weekends and late nights – because you have only one goal, the goal of growing your company. The goal of spreading your vision and belief to as many people as you can. You have a purpose and that gives you a drive. But, does your team have one?
You have a strong determination to grow your company, be successful and famous. You are waiting for the moment when you will finally feel like you have arrived. This instantly pushes you to keep going even in your darkest period. But what about your employees? What drives them to work hard? What makes them work for the growth of your company?
You have a sense of belonging that gives you the clarity, motivation, and happiness to work relentlessly. Your employees lack this belonging.
The usual complaints that you have about your employees are 'slacking at work, low performance, etc'. These are not problems, they are symptoms. The problem appears to be a lack of belonging in the company, because of which they don’t take ownership.
If you break down the problem, you will get your answer:
- Why do they not take ownership as you do?
Because they lack an emotional connection with the company.
- Why do employees lack belonging?
Because they don’t trust you nor do they find anything in common with you.
3- proven ways to build a great team
- Strong rapport with your employees will get you positive results
Employees are not slaves. They don’t work for you, they work with you. A company is nothing but a group of people coming together. As you grow, you build your own community. In this community, you have someone who will lead and someone who will follow. These are the roles that each team member plays. You hire a team because each one comes with a different skill set and talent and that difference will help you succeed. These different skills and talents have to come together and collaborate to arrive at the final product. When you look at your relationship with employees as collaboration, you will start including them in all the processes and will look at them from a different perspective. This will give your employees a purpose and will connect them with the company
- Instant gratification is the most effective way to inspire your employees
As humans, we work mainly for two reasons, growth and appreciation. These 2 factors are strong psychological motivators. Appreciation feeds our ego and an instant appreciation is like what butter is to food, it adds immense pleasure to our ego. Humans can be conditioned easily. When we do a good job that leads to our ego boost, we are more than willing to repeat that behavior. So, when an employee gets instant appreciation for his/her good work; they will be driven to perform at their best
- Create value for employees
People make society and society make people. As a company, you are supposed to create value for society. Your society starts within your company. Your people are a part of the society that you are responsible for. When you start creating value for your people, in turn, your people will create value for you and your clients.
When you contribute to their well being (and I’m not talking about money alone), in turn, they will contribute to your company’s success.
Don’t create a workplace where your people are drinking copious cups of coffee and looking at the clock hands to turn right. Regardless of different personalities and styles, create a trusting space where people are working together securely, using their skills and collaborating to win.
If you agree with my ideas, then leave a comment below.
Gauri Palekar.
I help growing companies succeed through people. I collaborate with companies to create a positive work culture that helps them build strong teams. I'm creating a #gopositive movement - converting companies into positive work-spaces, one company at a time. You can connect with me through LinkedIn or you can e-mail me at [email protected]. You can read more on Guerrilla HR ideas &culture design on my blog