Know your fit - Significance Fit
You know that you are onto something when two great thinkers think alike. I have for a long time been admirers of the writings of Patrick Lencioni and Seth Godin. Modern day leadership philosophers who understand how people tick and the importance of moral purpose. So, what great thinking lands in the intersection of the Venn Diagram of leading people? . . . Significance.
Song of significance
In Seth Godin’s latest book, The Song of Significance, he outlines what people are looking for. Safety comes first. It is the seedbed on which growth can come. Next comes affiliation, a sense of being part of something, fitting in or being connected and then a sense of status within that. The culmination and real desire is to have significance, to do something that matters. In work, it’s creating a difference, being part of something and doing work that we are proud of. Seth Godin explains that ‘teams doing significant work can create a culture where clarity professionalism and enrolment open the door to possibility’. He explains that we need to push back from the industrial, results driven model and turn to a purpose driven model. We need to relocate the centre from being profit-centric to team-centric. When we are team-centric, like a good hive of bees where the honey is the bi-product of a healthy hive, our results in our organisation can be the same.
The truth about employee engagement
Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Truth About Employee Engagement, explains that there are three things that lead to job misery. Anonymity, Irrelevance and Immeasurement. In other words, employees don’t feel known by their boss, they feel their work is irrelevant and they don’t know when they have been successful. At the root of this is that word significant again. They feel insignificant, they feel what they do is insignificant and lacks purpose and they have no way of knowing it is having a significance.
The Venn diagram intersection with Seth Godin’s work is the importance of relevance. If people know what they are doing has relevance to people and is making a difference, it inspires them forward to do more.
Significance fit
We have a huge industry that focuses on how physical fit you are? Running, gym work, pilates. What is it that you need to get physically fit that works for you? But how often do you reflect on your significance fitness? How significant fit are you as an individual and as an organisation.
As an individual,
Do you know what passionate purpose is?
Do you know what it is that you bring to the world that you are good at and it impacts positively on others?
As an organisation, what is your purpose?
What difference do you make to your customers, stakeholders or the world?
How fit are you as an organisation to help your employees know their significance and the purpose they have and what difference their contribution makes?
Next steps
Well, I would first recommend to read one of the two books that we have mentioned today. The next step is to consider your personal purpose and your organisation’s purpose. Maybe also consider what difference you are looking to make. If you have a product, what difference will it make. If you are a service industry, what do you want your customers to be free from or experience positively? If you are an educator, what difference are you looking to make to them academically, socially or mentally.
Do have a chat with us at Everyday Leader and Everyday Coaching to help you discover them. It will empower your team.
Give us a call on 01449 710438 or email colin@everydayleader.co.uk if you would like us to help you explore this and empower you.
