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Autumn is here – and I can now see clear nights and frozen fingers! As I battled with my new telescope to see some stars… as it's the cool thing to do (it isn’t as easy as the show made it look... thanks Brian Cox) but it did make me think about connections...
If you aren’t already convinced that connection is key in your business, have a read of my colleague Laura’s blog about why it is important.
We all know that knowing and believing doesn’t always lead to doing… (that telescope isn’t really new it has been in the cupboard for 2 years!) so what is holding your organisation or team back from achieving success through connections?
We are all different – we are all humans with human traits, preferences, beliefs, and preprogrammed attitudes. There is no magic bullet, no wand swish or incantation that enables a group of individuals to become a connected team overnight.
It takes hard work, time, and that ever elusive understanding of others.
If you think about all the different types of people in your business, and since we are there already… let’s go with stars….
Rock stars – solid, dependable workforce who do what you need and get on with it.
Shooting stars – ambitious growth driven people who drive forward looking for more
Dying stars – the #quietquitters, long in the tooth, bored and tired employees with an eye on the door
New stars – the less experienced, new stars embarking on their career ready to learn and soak up everything or perhaps just new to your organisation.
How these groups of people think, feel and act will be as different as their experiences and beliefs are different. Yet, each requires a connection. Each plays its part in your organisation's journey, narrative, and survival.
Some groups are easier to make that connection with and you could find yourself believing that you are succeeding as you have a following and impact with them. However, don’t forget that from all the good you might be doing here, is it being undone elsewhere? Is it holding you back or worse, eroding progress?
I invite you to grab a 10 minute break and reflect on these questions:
Do you know how everyone in your business feels – what work have you done to find this out?If you understand how they think and feel you can forge connections that matter.
What time and priority do you apportion to these groups?You should prioritise the harder to reach and stop the outflow of energy. Turn the tide. Build these connections with purpose. If it's growth, getting through a rough patch, improving decision making, or making a cultural shift, without the quality connections of your people and your business these things will all be harder. Take more time and possibly not achieve the level of success you could if you focused on connections.
How do you measure your connections with your people?
Have you entered into a false sense of security? Good old vanity metrics come into play here! If you send out a comms, how do you measure its success, its reach, and interactions? Are these true reflections of connections or just positive spins?
What level of trust do you have in your organization and what’s the quality of that trust?
If you can reach those people who aren’t yet fully connected to your business, purpose, or values you are instantly increasing your trust account with your workforce. Times have been weird, and we are still in a state of something new to worry about each week – trust is key.
So, get out the big telescope, have a gaze into your business, and see what stars you see. Now think about what stars you know and how you can connect to those who haven’t yet caught your attention with their shine. You might just propel your business forward through the darkness and spot some opportunities to stop holding you back.
"Eventually, everything connects- people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se..." - Charles Eames
