Is Your Business Lacking Direction?

Chasing your tail? Is your organization lacking direction? While organizations are expected to work together as a team, there are many potential sources of conflict within an organization that may hinder its progress. One is lack of direction.

Recent statistics indicate that the average employee, in the average workplace, has little or no confidence that his or her senior leadership team knows where they are going. Nor does the average employee have faith and confidence that the executive team is choosing the right strategic direction. Although there are exceptions, my belief is that the organization fails to adequately communicate with its employees. The most important part in communicating the direction is the why we are taking the steps we are taking.

Yes, leadership teams stand up at the company meeting and announce their strategic direction and plans. This is not communicating. You're just getting the word out. You're announcing. At least, it is not communicating at a level necessary for employees to integrate the strategic direction and plans into their job and activities at work.

When employees understand the purpose and how each member contributes toward the ultimate goal at hand, they are committed to taking the steps necessary to accomplish the tasks. However, when they are unclear of the goals, uncertain of his/her role in the organization, they begin to loose interest and are less committed.

I don't think that managers understand how critically important communicating the strategic direction at the level of an individuals job is to organization-wide understanding of strategic direction.

Communicating goals doesn't guarantee that your employees will be motivated and love what they do, but if you don't convey goals to your employees at all you can certainly guarantee that they won't be motivated because they won't know where they are going.

Employees need to understand the organization’s goals, how the employees connect to the organization, and how their success and the organization’s success intertwine.

As always, my advise is to COMMUNICATE!