I’m reminded of the line at the end of the movie “Pretty Woman” — “What’s your dream?” The truth is everyone has dreams.
The poet T.E. Lawrence said it best:
“All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.”
You have dreams and so do your people.
The key to making these dreams come true is powerful partnerships and engagement with your people. This is stronger than any strategy you can create for your organization.
The visual below is clear: results require engagement of and with all people in your organization. Many say “our people are our biggest asset,” but what are we really doing to unleash their power?
My stand: I believe in the unlimited human potential for greatness.
From the work I do as a coach, here are five ways to start unleashing the power of people:
- Purpose: Include your people in the discussion about purpose and vision for your company. Make sure they have a “line of sight” to this purpose and a connection with how they contribute. Create an environment for “straight talk.”
- Entrepreneurship and innovation: Overused? Maybe, but, we need to encourage ideas and new solutions to challenges. I have always been amazed when I ask and listen how incredible people’s ideas are.
- Fail fast: Again, overused? No, just not usually sincere. Encouraging and celebrating your people to try new things without fear of negative consequences will free their minds and imaginations to do incredible things. When we “fail,” we get that much closer to knowing what is missing for a breakthrough.
- Invest: Provide a behavioral style assessment to your people — like DiSC Assessment Profiles. This will allow your people to know and understand themselves better and allow them to communicate better with teammates and clients. Bonus: Your investment shows you care about them as individuals.
- Coach: Do you have a culture of coaching? I don’t mean an annual performance review — I mean a consistent, future-based process that has all leaders meet one-on-one with their people regularly to listen, give balanced feedback and provide personal and professional development. Every great athlete has a coach and everyone in your organization — including you — deserves a coach. I believe that there simply is no more powerful management tool than a culture committed to coaching.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Those who take seriously the art of coaching work to transform the lives of others around them.
When we unleash the power of people we make our dreams and their dreams come true — and extraordinary results will follow.
Kurt Treu is the owner of The Growth Coach of Greater Cleveland. He believes in better business, better results, better life. Contact him at (440) 384-5088 or [email protected].
