QUESTION
I’ve been put in charge of a highly dysfunctional organization. Members of the team are not on board with the change I want to make and I’m helping them find other assignments. Morale is low and it’s distracting me toward smaller, less significant efforts to help lift the mood rather than some of the more systemic issues I need to face. Where do I focus?
ANSWER
It can be tempting to invest time in recognition programs, team lunches, company events in an attempt to “bring people together” or “raise people’s spirits.” At the end of the day, prioritizing the hard decisions, seeking the biggest levers in the system and working them to achieve different outcomes is what inspires dedication among employees. Only then do recognition programs and “morale” events have any meaning.
The best morale exists when you never hear the word mentioned. When you hear a lot of talk about it, it’s usually really lousy.
— Dwight Eisenhower, American army general, statesman, and 34th president of the United States
What can leaders legitimately ask of employees during times like these? Not blind loyalty. Most people have experienced hard limits on how loyal the organization can be in return.
As leaders, managers, and influencers in an organization, you need a lot more than loyalty from employees. Loyalty can get lazy or misled. People loyal to particular leaders or misaligned agendas can actually cause significant problems. They often resist change and try to perpetuate an outdated culture that could kill the organization.
What about morale? Should that be the goal? The short answer is: no.
High morale isn't a realistic goal when other, stronger emotions like fear, uncertainty, or doubt are running high. Some of the managements' decisions are guaranteed to produce poor morale. Confronted with a choice between doing what is necessary to keep the lights on and keeping people happy, defending those hard decisions enables you to do the most good for the most people from the inside. From time to time, you have to be willing to make sacrifices in people's moods.
Most importantly, morale is a byproduct of an effective system. Attention to the levers within the system is key to changing the system’s results. Leaders at all levels need to make the mission relevant to their team or organization. It is their job to justify the struggle, to aim people toward something special. Never underestimate the power of purpose.
Consistent performance produces consistent results. Consistency is what pays the bills and renews the budgets—not loyalty or morale.
What you need to ask for is dedication to one’s craft—whatever that is for them (solving problems, selling solutions, engineering technology, etc.
Dedication to works a lot harder than loyalty. Dedication to gets more done than morale. Dedication energizes, empowers, and inspires. It taps a person's true potential and unique creativity for solving the toughest problems—crucial for the problems confronting us today, where there are no manuals with easy answers. Organizations can no longer tolerate mediocre performers content with status quo. With the advance of technology, the pace of change, and the types of crises confronting us today, there is no room for dead weight or half-hearted effort by employees—at any level.
Is it fair to ask for dedication in today's climate? It's unfair not to.
Dedication is self-sustaining and gives meaning to work. It deepens one's self-worth. It preserves employees’ value and strengthens the organization's capabilities. Everybody benefits, but the employee enjoys the richest rewards of all.
MORE THOUGHTS…
In any team sport, the best teams have consistency and chemistry.
— Roger Staubach, former American football quarterback
The winning team has a dedication. It will have a core of veteran players who set the standards. They will not accept defeat.
— Merlin Olsen, American football player, announcer, and actor
Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.
— Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist, scientist and philosopher
The best morale exists when you never hear the word mentioned. When you hear a lot of talk about it, it’s usually really lousy.
— Dwight Eisenhower, American army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States
Morale is self-esteem in action.
— Avery Weisman, American psychiatrist, educator and author
Part of courage is simple consistency.
— Peggy Noonan, Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, weekly columnist
REMEMBER
Change often can ignite or kill people’s faith in the future. Resilience with and dedication to making change happen depends on them perceiving change as an opportunity. Blind loyalty produces stagnation, atrophy of skills, and less big picture thinking. People will pass up opportunities for development, risking the preparedness of the group in order to “be taken care of.” In this scenario any change is threatening and will likely be sabotaged. They are not up to the challenge. On the flip side, people who are open to possibilities, curious, and interested in learning what might come from change, they often enable it.
PRACTICE
Think through personal or organizational changes you have experienced. Consider what contributed to both positive and negative changes, and what you need to gain a better perspective in order to engage and dedicate yourself to the shift.
CONNECT
Talk to a friend or trusted colleague about how you have gained perspective during times of change. Maybe you took worked closely with your manager or a coach, sought a mentor, read a book, took a class, or made some kind of shift in your thinking?
REFLECT
Consider times some of the personal and professional changes you have experienced.
Were there times you fell into a weary pattern of doubt, cynicism, and disillusionment? What contributed to that thought process?
Were there times you felt ignited by the potential of a shift? What contributed to your thought process?
To perform well while under pressure, we need to develop habits to work more effectively. Making the right decisions, engaging with others effectively, learning to manage our own emotions takes practice.
Driving Dedication During Change: A pocket guide for becoming an effective linchpin enables you with all the tools and tactics you need to make your interactions less stressful and more effective.