Lisa Earle McLeod reminds leaders that what they say to their teams or clients can ultimately reflect on the culture of the organisation.
The words of the leader have an outsize impact on the team.
Words create worlds. If you’re a leader, your words tell your people how they should feel about your organisation.
I use the word “feel” very intentionally here.
The most effective leaders use their time with their teams to infuse a sense of purpose and meaning.
Here are four ways to make your workplace feel more meaningful.
Tell success stories at town hall meetings: Nothing is more powerful than a leader standing on stage telling a story about how the organisation makes a difference.
Instead of a deep dive on the quarterly performance, provide a top line summary, then tell what we refer to as a customer impact story.
This is a short, specific story about how your solution improved the life for a client.
This gives your team the message: Our work matters.
Start team meetings with purpose: One of our chief executive clients reads her firm’s purpose statement at the start of their monthly executive team meeting.
When the purpose is short and reflects and organisation’s highest aspirations for customers, it centres people.
If you don’t have a purpose statement, start your meetings with a short sentence that describes how you make a difference to clients and the public at large.
That particular chief executive’s team says hearing their noble purpose is like the bell at school or the gong at church.
“It calls people into the space and reminds us why we’re here,” they say.
Leadership teams come into meetings with their minds on their own functional areas; repeating a client-focused purpose increases alignment.
Bring the client’s voice into strategy sessions: When the boss asks: “How will this choice impact our purpose?” You change the frame.
Consider the difference between asking: “How will this impact our budget?” against: “How will this impact our clients, and our larger purpose?
The first question is transactional; the second question is strategic and will help you create a more differentiated organisation.
Cascade meaning in casual hallway conversations: It’s awkward to run into your boss, or her boss, or the chief executive when you’re not expecting it.
People get nervous so make it easy and fun.
One of our clients loves to say: “Another day of changing lives; got any good customer stories for me?”
He’s always looking for stories about how their firm made a difference.
If his team doesn’t have a story, he is always ready to tell one.
Team members may roll their eyes in jest, but they sure know what’s important to him.
Words create worlds.
These everyday moments in the cadence of normal business are how you as a leader build belief with your team and belief that the work they do matters.
If you want to create a tribe of true believers, bring your purpose into daily conversations.
Your words matter, let your team know you’re a purpose-driven leader worth following.
*Lisa Earle McLeod is the leadership expert best known for creating the popular business concept Noble Purpose. She can be contacted at mcleodandmore.com.
This article first appeared on Lisa’s blogsite.
