Communicate and Motivate (Part IV)
Part IV of our six part series discusses the importance of involving people in decisions that affect them. Team members want to have a say in how they do their work and they want to provide input to those changes. Therefore you must ask for help and encourage involvement. The five Key Elements of effective communication are:
When you ask others for help, you are telling them that you value their opinions, knowledge and skills. When you involve others, you will increase your chances that real innovative ideas will become part of implementing your strategy. Commitment is stronger when people feel like they were involved in the decision even if their ideas weren’t ultimately followed. If you don’t include people in decision making, productivity will suffer and people will only do what they’re told, nothing more.
Don’t be reluctant to ask for help. The best performers always ask for help and they aren’t too proud that good ideas came from other people. Involvement of others should be your very first approach. Ask others what they think should be done before offering your ideas. Exploring new perspectives can spark enthusiasm and innovation. Dig deep by using questions to flush out someone’s idea. They may have something incredibly refreshing and you helping them dig it out can be beneficial. Asking questions will also help to recognize those ideas with little merit.
When you ask for help from others and encourage their involvement, you are encouraging people to take responsibility. You cannot get everything done yourself. Who should you ask? Ask those key people involved who know the situation, who have knowledge on the topic, who might be asked to implement a decision or who will be affected by the change. Make asking a priority and you’ll see that your people feel more respected and return in kind with hyper-productivity.
