WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR DEVELOPING YOUR ORGANISATION?

“Tell me what you want, what you really really really want”

Remember this song? “Wannabe” by Spice Girls? Brings back great memories for me.

But what has this song got to do with your organisation, your teams and their development?

We are living in a world with numerous L&D programmes on offer. I have a whole section in my notebook dedicated to new terminology, new psychological theories and trends that may (or may not) help with business management and development. It’s a never-ending world to keep up with. Have you read this book, that book? Have you done this course, that course? Have you heard of XXXXXXXXXism or XXXXXXXXXisticim? There is a fast river of revelation and insight that seems to sweep through the world of development that promises us the answer. Throw in some FOMO, tokenism and we end up booking things in, adopting new strategies in order to not be left behind or in order to find fast solutions and/or to keep up appearances.

The real problem however is that oftentimes we don’t even know what we need to fix. We follow the trends and the trails all too quickly without identifying what we really need right now. For example, the well-being space within organisations has played a key role over the past 18 months. Wellness Wednesdays, Thankful Thursdays have become something familiar to many of us. I love it of course and teach workshops for such necessary initiatives. However, what I go back to all the time is, what is needed, really really needed? What do your teams need and want… really really want?

I have 4 children and I’d argue that leading a team isn’t too big a stretch from leading a family. I think of each of my kids as having their own garden, and I observe what is flowering, what’s looking healthy, where the gaps or spaces are that have the potential for more blooms/opportunities. I also observe where there is too much growth and/or where are the weeds that need pruning and pulling out.  

It’s a helpful metaphor when leading people to consider this organic ecosystem that has its own potential and growth and you get to help see that reality come into focus.

We cannot bulldoze into their “garden,” their world, their soul and get them to do what we think or assume they need, no matter how positive and right we think we are. We need to take time to be in that garden, to observe the climate, the soil before we can ascertain what they need and want.

What potential is hiding behind the business of every day? Have you taken the time to ask, to be curious about what your people want? Really really want?  You may be thinking, what if my team wants me to give them more time off, or more development training so that they can be on the shop floor less. This is not what I’m suggesting. Rather, take the time to think and explore what is needed for their purpose and potential to be realised which comes from being curious and inquisitive for that beat longer than we all give it. That is where the true needs and wants are found that will reap the rewards of solving deeper intrinsic motivation and performance within your people. This is where the goldmine is.

So, my suggestion is to not rush into solutions, not to keep up with the Jones's in terms of new training, but to stay a beat longer in that uncomfortable place of discovering ‘What do you (your team) really really want?’ What is hiding in the depths of the soil, the seeds that are waiting to grow, or the weeds that need to be expertly pulled out that will be worth the investment in the long run?

For discovering more on this do get in touch.