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Getting High Return from Human Capital - Organizational Sustainability
28 Oct 08 - By Harrison Quigley By aligning personal and organizational purpose, you can tap into the self-motivation and the latent creativity of your workforce.
There are several very good reasons for enhancing the human capital of one’s workforce. After all, what is an organization if not a group of individuals united for a common purpose? It’s the degree to which each individual within an organization is aligned with and actively, creatively pursuing the purpose of the organization that determines overall organizational effectiveness, brilliance of product and service and thus organizational viability and prosperity for all. Therefore, getting all individuals within one’s employ knowledgeable about and in full agreement with the overall purpose of the organization itself – assuming that it is a worthwhile purpose – is a natural driver.
An effective organization with a worthwhile purpose and a self-motivated workforce is an asset to all stakeholders and essential in achieving organizational sustainability. Such organizations have a moral compass and act out of the consciousness imbued upon it collectively by the individuals that make it up. Their core competencies are in natural alignment with their own life purpose and overall purpose of their organization. The manner in which they deliver those competencies to the environment in which they operate is governed by the concept of seamlessly doing well whilst doing good. It is such organizations that attract the brightest talent and retain it; that attract thoughtful and motivated investors; and of whose products, services and brands stakeholders consider with pride and respect – adequate drivers for any management team.
Life could be defined as having and following a purpose. One is alive to the degree that he or she is pursuing their own purpose. Individuals come together in pursuit of their respective purposes and find common purposes and objectives, complimentary skills and talents, and mutually beneficial connection. People work well together to the degree that they find others facilitate achievement of their individual purposes. To the degree that the group facilitates achievement of individual purpose, group purpose is achieved, from which springs group pride, esprit de corps, loyalty and even personal sacrifice for the good of the group. The individual rises beyond their own self-interest. It is actually the natural process of civilization.
So, how does one go about aligning organizational purpose with those of the individuals that make up the organization?
#1 Know for your self the real purpose of the organization. Is the organization actually there simply to make the owners rich, or is it there to somehow improve quality of life, standard of living, facilitate productivity and accomplishment, or to distract and entertain, etc. Many organizations have a mission statement or vision. Is yours a genuine expression of core values actually share by the management team or is it window dressing? Does it express a worthwhile purpose that could fire others’ passion? If so, proceed to #2. If not, remedy this first.
#2 Discover the individual purposes within one’s workforce. Sit down privately and talk with each employee. Ask them what they are working on; if they need any assistance; if there is anything that would make their job easier; if there is anything that is preventing them from doing their job; what changes they think need to be made, etc. They may feel uncomfortable at first. They may feel like they’re being “investigated.” After all, probably no one has ever cared enough to have a genuine, open and candid conversation with them like this. Don’t argue or become defensive regardless of how they answer. Respect their answers. Let them know that their viewpoint is valued and appreciated. If you do this well and make it safe enough to communicate openly and candidly, often times they will originate what it is that they would like to accomplish personally. If they, in the course of the conversation, do not originate it, ask them directly what it is that they would like to accomplish; what effect would they like to create. Ask them what they would do with a million dollars and what they would do with their life after they’d bought all the creature comforts and toys they name. Ultimately, there answers will break down into 3 categories: 1) those that don’t have a clue and are going through the motions because they’re supposed to, 2) those whose ultimate ambition is to do nothing, and 3) those who have a concept of why they’re on this planet.
#3 Ensure each one gets the connection between their individual purpose and that of the organization. Those personnel whose answers fall within the third category either are, or can be, your change agents. They are going somewhere and they want to accomplish something. In most instances, you will be able to connect the dots with them between what they want to accomplish and your organization’s purpose. Once done, brainstorm together on how such mutual purposes could be achieved and empower them to put their creativity into action. Enabling them to do so will lift the boats of those in category 1 and 2, and prompt a few to elect themselves out of the way.
#4 Group them together by commonality of individual purpose. You will be surprised to find the commonality of answers among those in category 3. But don’t be surprised if the consensus brings the elephant in the room into sharp focus. Some Category 3s will have skill sets for addressing the problem and/or taking advantage of the opportunities that complements other Category 3s. Organize them accordingly into a team, ad hoc or otherwise, empowered to address the subject initiative.
#5 Set and get agreement on how the game will be played and let them go for it! Get your team of Category 3s to delineate the goals, purposes, policies, programs, projects, vision, metrics, products and time lines of their initiative and publish them. Pass the ball to them and let them get on with, monitoring and debugging when needed. You may be amazed at the level of responsibility and creativity that ensues. Just don’t micro-manage them. Let them fall on their face a few times and solve their own problems. It’s an investment of restraint that will eventually pay dividends for years to come.
Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Isn’t that what people have been doing since the formation of the first villages at the dawn of civilization? Well, there are some barriers – the same barriers that have dogged civilization since its inception and made the majority of them unsustainable – which we will address in the next article. Stay tuned!
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About the Author: Harrison Quigley is the CEO and Senior Human Capital Partner of Up-shift, LLC, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Up-shift is a management training and services firm specializing in implementation of a revolutionary new holistic, enterprise-wide management system that routinely reduces cost and waste, improves revenue and enhances human capital in achieving full sustainability with long-term viability. For more information, please visit www.Up-shift.com or e-mail info@Up-shift.com.
© 2008 Harrison Quigley. All rights reserved.