While I’m fishing the ball out of the goal on a sunny 23-degree day on May 1st, scorer Philip says to his brother Luis, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Wow, that’s a good one. And he repeats it another five or six times while they play well together and keep putting the ball in the net.
I know that currently many companies are facing challenging times in terms of employee recruitment and motivation. And that, as often happens, brings me to my favorite topic, values. What values are important in your company or in your life? And as a leader, do you demonstrate these values today? Because then, tomorrow, you’ll inevitably attract people who share and live by the same values. With them, you can collectively achieve your company goals because through work, the employee’s values are fulfilled, and thus, the person is happy.
Here’s a beautiful truth I heard recently: “If you want your employee to treat your customers friendly, then hire a friendly employee.” Therefore, the value of “friendliness” should be highly valued by you to attract such people (employees and customers). All too often, we hire someone with the perfect resume or other great certificates. But this potential employee simply doesn’t fit into your team in terms of personality and values. Fact is, you won’t change someone’s values. Of course, you can train them or manipulate them or force a certain performance. But it always costs you something to get that person moving. Usually money, power, or prestige. Only then does that person work because of a deal and not from the heart. And in the long run, they’ll always want more of that motivator, like money and so on. What if you had people who support your vision and your values? People who have a similar goal? Then you would all pull together at full throttle in the same direction.
“But Norman, where am I supposed to find such people?” you might be asking yourself. Well, have you communicated your values, your vision, and your goals to the world? Have you written down these things on your business card (if you still have one)? Do you live these values in your everyday life so that people can see, feel, and hear them? Or are you still hoping that the right people for you have clairvoyant abilities? Communicate clearly and distinctly who you are, what you offer, and what you want or are looking for. Then the right people can come to you. I discuss this in detail in my talk “Heart over Mind – more meaning, more value,” which I recommend to change-ready and open-minded companies.
With that said, I wish you a fantastic new week, and always remember: Teamwork makes the dream work.
