How many people work for you? About half of them.
It’s an old joke, but too often it truly is the case in shops around the world. We’re all employed at the same company and we show up at the same location, usually at the same time, but that doesn’t mean that we really work while we’re there. Nor does it assure that we work well together.
This goes to the idea of Employee Engagement: having people truly involved in contributing to the advancement of the company. I’ve spoken about this before and it’ll no doubt be an issue as long as there are companies and careers. But let’s kick it up a notch. What if you really could get full engagement from everyone on your team? What if each person showed up, eager to help the team succeed?
Watching the Summer Olympics in Rio brought this concept to light for me. The US Gymnastics team never did any activity that engaged everyone together, yet you couldn’t dispute that they behaved as a team. The athletes encouraged each other, celebrated each person’s successes, and consoled them when they stumbled or failed.
They didn’t express fears or doubts about the team’s ability to win or about each other’s chances for a good score. They didn’t even roll their eyes or show nonverbal negativism. The Swim team did the same, though even in the relays they didn’t swim together. Each had to perform well individually. Nobody had a chance to coast or slipstream another member.
This is true for the team sports, too. In soccer or volleyball, each player must perform excellently and be ready to pass or block or take a shot. Nobody is unimportant to the success of the team.
Isn’t that true in your shop? Don’t you rely on your office manager to be accurate and efficient when scheduling jobs, ordering parts, replenishing supplies, and handling communications? Aren’t you significantly reliant on the basic practices of removal and installation, cleaning parts, caring for tools, and using technology correctly? Don’t you depend on your rebuilders and senior technicians to be good team captains and problem solvers?
How about attitudes? When’s the last time one person’s sour disposition poisoned others on the team and made work really feel like work? We can all feel the cynical judgment of a criticizing coworker or an expressive pessimist who just can’t resist pointing out why something won’t succeed.
All right, so what is it that gets everyone engaged and makes for a championship team atmosphere? Happily these are known and widely proven. It’s fairly simple to create a winning team but it’s rarely done. Let’s you and me become the exceptions, the folks who do what works and discourage what doesn’t. You in?
Keys to a fully engaged championship team:
- As the leader, you must decide to build a championship team.
- Encourage people to try their good ideas. Think like Nordstrom Department Store, where their motto has been “Use your own good judgment.” Then train them to understand what good judgment looks like.
- Value everyone, and show and tell them that they’re important to the team.
- Appreciate and acknowledge people for all the good things they do. Tell them frequently what you like about their work, attitude, ideas, etc.
- Make sure everyone is focused on doing what’s right for the customer and the company. In the end, it’s all about how many people you helped and whether you did so profitably.
- Give each person the chance to shine, to occasionally be the center of attention, and to strut their stuff if they want to. Everyone shows happiness at the good performance of his or her teammates.
- Expect everyone to help sustain an atmosphere of excellence and of winning. The culture is one of encouragement and striving for improvement.
- Everyone keeps score. Athletes always know the score and they track their own numbers. In a championship shop, everyone knows what’s working and what’s not because the numbers are posted for all to see.
- It’s occasionally okay not to be at your best. Your teammates support you when you’re down. But if you’re consistently down, it’s time for a change. You either have to step up or make room for those who will.
- Expect a learning atmosphere. Every person is responsible for his or her own continuing improvement and professional education. Those who aren’t learning constantly are inhibiting those who are. Take classes, read, attend Expo, participate in the webinars, and get the coaching you need.
- It’s always about how well you serve the customer. Tell each other about your interactions with customers. What worked and what didn’t? How can everyone help create more satisfied customers who will brag about how happy they are with your services?
When was the last time you gave a coworker a high-five or heard someone say, “Man, you’re good! Nice work!”? Maybe that can start with you. Now’s the time, Expo is the place, and you’re the one who can make a difference… starting right now.
Jim Cathcart is a strategic advisor to ATRA and a long time contributor to GEARS Magazine. As the author of 18 books, including The Self Motivation Handbook, Jim speaks at conventions around the world and coaches achievers in many industries. Access his free resources at Cathcart.com and be sure to say hello to him at Expo.
