3 Steps to Creating Momentum Right Where You Are

While it is tempting to wait for the next new superstar hire or budget approval to magically create the momentum we need in our organizations, I’m not sure that is always the wisest strategy. 

In fact, we often overlook what is right in front of us, ways in which we can as leaders, tap into the energy, drive and passion of our people.

We recently worked with an organization that had enjoyed impressive levels of success, but currently was stuck, not making the kind of progress they knew they were capable of. Without the perks of unlimited new hiring and increasing budgets they had enjoyed in the past, this leadership team was forced to consider ways in which they might improve the level of engagement and output of their employees.

Here is what they would tell you propelled them to the next level, in pretty significant and rapid ways:

COLLABORATIVE CONVERSATIONS

Decreasing the number of telling or information-giving conversations and increasing the number of interactions based on “tell me what you think” is a pretty powerful interaction. People get tired of - and don’t give their best to - an endless run of ‘follow the leader.’ They want to be invited to participate at the most important levels, and this requires leaders to engage their people in authentic conversations about the vision, mission, strategy and execution of the organization.

Vision is a team sport, it is a collaborative effort. And when it is those things, ownership soars. And owners give more than renters, they just do. Rather than asking for more energy from their people, leaders need to provide an energizing space.

When people come to a meeting with anticipation rather than dread or apathy, leaders move from the position of trying to light a fire under un-motivated people, to trying to get a bit and bridle in fast enough that there is some sense of direction to all their energy. People who are being invited into the discussion, knowing that their thoughts and opinions will be valued, bring anticipation with them. I’d much rather be in the bit and bridle business.

Another one of the companies that we worked with recently had been so successful that their offices were full of trophies, plaques and awards for being tops in their industry. Tastefully displayed, they bore witness to their accomplishments. But, in spite of their past successes, they found themselves stalled in moving to new levels.

During one of the many collaborative conversations that this leadership team had, someone came up with an interesting idea. Everyone got his or her fingerprints on that original idea, and what emerged was this:

On their next All Employee Meeting day, they removed the awards before anyone got to work. When people showed up that morning, there was nothing where there had been trophies. It looked like a burglary had occurred.

When everyone gathered in the large meeting room, the buzz was deafening. It took the CEO a few minutes to get people to stop talking, and then he said, “For the next couple of hours, we are going to engage in some conversations about what values got us those awards. And then we are going to consider how we can re-infuse this place with what got us here in the first place and what we might be missing to move us into the future.”

From morning until lunch, everyone - the leadership team, the account and sales managers, the legal department and the janitors - sat side by side in groups and talked. Over the course of the morning, small poster boards with values on them were placed in the empty spaces where the trophies had been. After lunch, some great strategic work went on as to how they would re-capture those values, and rather than recite them, actually live them out in their work. 

The energy in that room was palpable, and the results that company achieved in the next six to nine months was undeniable. People had been invited to the conversation and the conversation had shaped the future.

FACING CONFLICT

At first glance, this may seem mundane or counter-intuitive, but it actually is one of the most powerful actions to create an environment that releases the best energy in an organization.

On most teams, you can hear the crunch of eggshells before you enter the room. Conflict that is not addressed inevitably siphons off enormous amounts of energy from people. Too much time is spent on the politics it creates, on the opposing coalitions it builds and the inevitable friction that slows everything down, from decisions to interpersonal interactions.
 
One team we consulted with had a leader that understood the drain of unresolved conflict. After about a three-month period of frustrating results, he brought an animal to the leadership meeting. A stuffed animal. An elephant.
 
For the next year, that little elephant presided at all of their meetings. Over time, he got covered in post-it-notes that had issues written on them. Uncomfortable conversations about issues that had derailed this team in their unspoken and underground way were had for the first time. This leader was serious about not wasting their best leadership efforts on things that they were avoiding. 

That little elephant got pretty tattered around the edges, but better him than them. After about a year of his company, he was moved to a shelf nearby, with an open invitation for anyone on the team to bring him back. This team learned quickly that it is a lot easier to clean up after an elephant if you know where he is.

VALUE CONTRIBUTIONS

There is a big difference between knowing this and doing this. That’s what the team I mentioned at the beginning of this article would tell you. One of the leaders started paying attention to the various people on her team, and leaving them a brief voice mail thanking them for their efforts. 

Their home voice mail. Small adjustment, but pretty powerful. These people would go home and find a recording of their boss applauding their attention to detail, follow-through, great idea or reports done well and on time. That creates a pretty contagious climate, too. Pretty soon the team members were doing it with each other, face to face, in meetings and in e-mails.

We need to stop playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with people, and increase our efforts to notice what people do, and when they do it well, tell them. Returning a phone call promptly and with great courtesy is worthy of our attention and thanks. Making a sales call, reorganizing the budget process, coming up with a fresh new idea that steers the organization in a better direction - it all deserves our response. 

One of my partners was walking out of an offsite with the CEO of a company we were working with and noticed something. He told me “That man addressed the front desk receptionist by name, thanked her for her 'first impression' contribution to the company, and knew enough about her to ask about her son’s recent basketball game.

“Before we got to the parking lot he greeted, again by name, the guy who was working on the landscaping, and put his appreciation into words, for this man’s efforts. I don’t think I am imagining this, but I think they both were trying to suppress smiles.”

Indeed.

We can wait. For the recruiting search to locate that one stellar person we have been missing, or for an increase in our budget for the next fiscal year. Or we can start today, doing these three things that don’t cost a dime.

Let the momentum begin.