How to Lead Your Organization Into the Future

In today’s fast-paced world, the lines between personal and business are becoming more blurred. Seeking balance will become more critical.

One of the issues we will face is AI. And while AI is intelligent and helpful, it lacks something that humans have: feelings. AI is not sensate, meaning it lacks sensation, consciousness, and feeling. And this is exactly what we can use as a foundation to creating successful home performance businesses.  

What is needed—arguably more than ever—is a workplace that does three things: expresses love (or a caring for others), gives gratitude at every opportunity, and has positive expectations about the future (for oneself, for the organization, for the team, and for the customer). When lived, these three expressions make for harmony, collaboration, and comradery. Feelings and sensations are essential for the work we do.

John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” This quote emphasizes the importance of looking forward, and adapting to, the change needed to create a better future. 

Darwin did not say the strongest nor wisest will survive. He said those who are most able to adapt to change will survive.

Two Steps Into the Future

There are two important steps that should be considered to lead an organization into the future:

1. Develop a person-focused purpose for doing the work we do, and
2. Establish ideal values for a clear code of conduct.

Step 1: Develop a Purpose

Having a compelling organizational purpose empowers everyone to seek like interests. Dedication to an organization’s purpose makes for a great place to work. Time spent completing the sentence below will help unify our work effort. We are dedicated to _________________ so that _________________.

It is important to be transparent while developing your purpose. Also, include as many people in the organization as possible—you want everyone to have ownership. The “why” to your purpose is critical.

Step 2: Establish Values

When establishing a set of values, again, use as many employees as possible. A good test of a values list is that the organization is dedicated to them to the extent that they will hire and fire by these values.

A few examples of values: respect everyone, be honest, drive change, be creative, and build a positive team and organization spirit.

Your purpose and values are the foundation for all the work done by your organization. Clearly articulate the organization’s vision, mission, and how each employee’s work contributes to the larger goals. Every employee likes to know that their work is contributing to a good cause.

Motivation

If both of these attributes are established (purpose and values), we should never have to motivate our team with carrots and sticks.

“Carrots” and “sticks” are motivators that come from outside the employee. This is commonly known as command and control management. In this management style, carrots (bonuses, days off, etc.) are given to reward or get more of a certain type of behavior. Alternatively, sticks (reprimands, demotions) are used as a punishment for poor performance or behavior. This approach will only effectively last a couple of weeks.

Modern-day workplaces have outgrown command and control management. Instead, we need a workplace that inspires employees to join us in the service of others. If our purpose and values inspire, that form of motivation is overwhelmingly intrinsic (internal) to the employee. The employees become people who love what they do.

I have been to organizations that feel like a family. Their people feel at home. Their work and relationships are inspiring.

The Results

Purpose and values should result in our work being done on time, to specifications, and within budget. Our people are not coming to work with the intention of violating our organization’s culture and work ethic. When work is done wrong, it is likely an accident and not done intentionally. Work done wrong with no bad intentions can be the result of a lack of knowledge, skills, or ability. Defects in our product or service should always be seen as an opportunity for improvement.

Forbes did research on employees and what they found to be a priority when seeking a job. They also wanted to define what truly makes a workplace exceptional for a diverse workforce. The following three points are the most popular areas of interest for those applying for a job.

1. Pride in work is a significant driver of employee engagement, leading to greater job satisfaction, higher motivation, and a desire to contribute beyond expectations.
2. Comradery ranked high in importance. It’s a strong sense of friendship, mutual support, and trust. Collaboration, communication, engagement, and retention all increase where we work with people we like.
3. The third key priority highlighted is equity, inclusion, and belonging. Yes, they want fair pay but they are more interested in good management and culture. (See the chart of employee responses below when asked about what motivates them at work.)

As mentioned above, what is needed—now more than ever—is a workplace that expresses love, gives gratitude, and has positive expectations about the future.  

As great as computers are, they can’t display sincere emotions and concern. Only you and I can build strong relations, have empathy, and have true concern for those who we work with and serve. I have found that the greatest reward in life is to serve others.

We’ve seen how we evolved thus far. From things like the calculator to the laptop and handheld smartphones. The “what’s next” isn’t just a future we wait for, it’s a future we build.

Let’s take what we’ve learned and start creating the next chapter, together.