Why, How and Who for a Year of Growth!
Culture = Growth
Your organization’s growth is contingent on one thing – your culture. You can’t have enhanced business growth without rock-solid people and culture. Now is the time to check in to see how that’s working for you.
It’s the beginning of the calendar year and for many organizations that also means the beginning of a new fiscal year. Ideally, you already know what your goals are and your people are coming back after a well-deserved break ready to embark on new beginnings. Your employees are engaged and excited, ready to contribute to your organization's strategic plan. And hopefully, they’re also ready to help drive revenue growth!
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, especially for businesses that are going through growing pains or transformational change.
By now, you’ve read tons of articles about individual goal-setting, New Year’s resolutions and motivational words of the year. My word of the year is BOLD, by the way, and I have some Big Harry Audacious goals for 2020, but don’t really do the resolution thing. I digress . . . it’s all the hype that’s getting me revved up.
I’ve often thought that for organizations seeking to increase revenue or make some profound changes in their business, this individual practice could be leveraged and used in a different way. Think about it, pick a word for the year that will help motivate your staff into taking action. Take that word, create a strategy around it and have fun with it.
Revisiting your business and people strategy for 2020 is a great start.
It’s a new year, a new decade, a new dawn, a new day.
What do you plan to do with it?
Is your plan to double revenue? Then I imagine you’ve already got this and are ready to roll.
Is your plan to be the most inspiring CEO or president ever? Yes? Sort of? Maybe?
That won’t cut it.
If your company doesn’t have a strategic business and people plan, and an inspirational leader to walk them through it, well I’d say those are the first things to tackle in 2020. Even if it’s for the next quarter.
Start now. Don’t put it off. It will be worth the time and effort.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Know your why
I’ve made the assumption that you have already done some of the work on this. Whatever your hopes and dreams are for your company in 2020, the leaders need to start with Why. Why are we doing this?
Many have read Simon Sinek’s 2009 best-seller Start with Why and ideally you understand the mission, vision and values of the company. Take stock of this and ask - Is this still relevant and valid today? Does the Why need to be reconsidered?
“All organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year.”
Get your leadership team together to clarify this prior to setting new objectives for your company, and in turn, your people. Determine your goals and objectives as early as possible. Make sure your employees feel empowered to jump in and get going. Help them embrace it.
You get it. Culture drives growth so don't delay.
Start goal setting
What are your organizational goals for the next quarter, six months and a year from now? Many organizations have moved away from long-term strategy planning of three or five years to smaller incremental targets. There is substantial value with strategy and having a vision for at least the next two years, as it helps with big picture thinking and planning.
You can break it down into manageable milestones. Many organizations started moving away from annual performance reviews in 2019, along with a few other archaic HR practices. For more on what to expect, read this article from HR Morning.
In the past, goals were used as a quantitative measure for employee performance, but now it takes way too long and is no longer effective. There needs to be some consideration for the culture, what makes sense for the business since when done well, goal-setting can help improve employee engagement in a way that elevates performance and benefits organizations overall, according to recent McKinsey research.
Setting goals can be simplified, so keep in mind the following:
involve employees throughout the cycle
focus on learning and growing, not penalizing
develop SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, results-oriented and time-bound) objectives
do it jointly (manager/employee)
set some stretch goals as motivators
link individual goals to business goals
develop team goals
revisit these goals regularly throughout the year
adapt (or adjust) goals as necessary
Of companies that have effective performance management systems and goal setting, 91 percent say that employees' goals are linked to business priorities. Your people need to see the big picture and that’s how culture is created. Their input and recognition for that part of the larger mission and vision of the company are what drives growth. If you want high-performance and high productivity, help set everyone up for success with clarity of the desired outcomes!
Who drives business growth?
Strategy, goal-setting and performance measures can be some of the biggest drivers of organizational health and an awesome culture. Leaders of 2020 are the ones that understand that people are at the heart of your organization and are the ones who help increase revenues and impact the bottom line.
Your people’s hearts and souls need to be committed to contribution, and they need to be motivated to bring their best selves to work.
If you want to jump-start this year, and get going in January, check in with your team. Check out the pulse of your people and ensure that they know their value, that they belong with your team and organization, and that they are making an impact.
Without them, there is no growth. Without them, there is no business.
Be the leader that inspires them to action.
So even though 2020 is just getting started, take a pause and reflect on where you want to go. The why, how and who will all come together with a well thought-out strategy, plan and execution. And perhaps even a mighty strong word to help inspire them.