I often remind clients that the one true need of their teammates is that they want to be proud of themselves and truly proud of their work.
Our Job As Leaders
Our job as leaders is to help our teammates find that pride. Twice in the last two days, the same thing was said by others. On the PBS program, “New Recruits“, an American philanthropy sends new college grads to third-world countries to organize startups to sell eco products. A Kenyan businessman takes under his wing one of the new graduates who’s having no luck at all starting his little company or selling his products. The Kenyan gentleman tells the graduate, “Remember one thing. People want to be proud of the thing they’re involved in.”
Ken Blanchard’s First Rule About Teams
In the Ken Blanchard book Gung Ho, Blanchard’s first rule in creating enthusiastic high-performing teams is “the work must be worthwhile”. Our work should be worth something, something truly worth our effort. We want work that makes us proud to be part of it. The job of a leader is to find the worth of the job and make it plain to the rest of us.
Do you do that as a leader? Do you think it’s important?
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