Engagement: develop a mission

Do you really just work to put bread on the table?

If so, it’s likely that you are one of the majority of employees not engaged in their work*. (It’s a majority, no matter which country you are in.)

Disengagement at work is a huge economic issue for your economy, but let’s set that aside for a moment and consider what those workers are losing.

The evidence is clear, turning our work into a mission – giving it a sense of purpose, a purpose that benefits others is good for us. Focusing on a mission bigger than ourselves makes us, not only more motivated, but happier and healthier.

Think of a mission as a choice. Leaders can help employees to make that choice and to see how their work could be a mission.

Even if our work isn’t particularly challenging, we can develop a mission. It’s all in the way we think about our role.

Examples?

Hotel staff who clean the rooms can see themselves as the people who vacuum the floors and make the beds. That’s just a job. A mission would be to prepare the rooms so that guests feel welcome and pleased they’re staying with us.

Your finance team could think they just write reports with figures in them. A mission is to ensure that the senior management team gets accurate and useful information to monitor the business and make sound decisions.

A parking warden might believe her job is to catch people overstaying their meter and issue tickets. A mission would be to ensure that parking spaces are shared, so that everyone gets a fair turn.

A vital role for leaders

Leaders can help individuals and whole teams develop a mission. Everyone benefits when they do.

Surely every job has a purpose and that purpose benefits humans, or we wouldn’t be doing it.

We can help employees turn the benefits for others from a purpose into a mission – something they make personal, that makes them feel good about getting out of bed in the morning.

The link with your organisation’s mission

The Gallup organisation tested hundreds of statements on 25 million employees around the world to see which ones are the best indicators of whether employees were engaged. Twelve statements stood out. One of them was:

‘The mission or purpose of my company
makes me feel my job is important.’

If you are a leader, be explicit about how your organisation benefits others, particularly its customers and community. But that’s just the beginning.

Show how your employees’ work contributes to the success your organisation’s mission.

So, in addition to listing tasks, be clear what the job is about – and the people who benefit from a job well done.

* From Organisational Effectiveness and Employee Engagement – Right Management – results of a survey of 28,000 employees in 15 countries in 2008-9

About the author: Ralph Brown is a speaker, trainer and writer on the science of success. His company Skillset New Zealand provides training in the communication and personal skills that make people more effective at work. Read his eBook “The Village That Could” on bookboon.com.