BIG IDEA: Excitement about the organization’s future is crucial to motivating a team.
I recently met with a long-standing customer, the CEO of a large, complex healthcare system. She told me that she’d just held a leadership summit for the top three hundred leaders at her organization, the first one in over three years. Coming into the summit, she knew all the leaders were exhausted, with many on the verge of burnout.
In her opening remarks to kick off the day, she told them, “I know we are all tired. I know you may feel like you have nothing more to give. However, our future is exciting as ever, and I want each of you to be part of it.”
She was right: they did have a bright future. They had an ambitious strategy for growth. They were launching new and innovative health services. The organization was seen as an industry leader. By the end of that day, there was a visceral sense of enthusiasm among the group.
This is a great example of the power of an exciting future and its ability to lift leaders from even the most challenging situations.
WHY IT MATTERS: Optimism drives action.
Noam Chomsky, an American linguist, philosopher, and cognitive scientist, once said, “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.”
His words underscore the way optimism and accountability are connected. Optimism spurs action, while cynicism makes people shrug their shoulders and give up, sure their efforts will be in vain. That kind of cynicism is poison to an organization.
When an organization needs to make a strategic shift, its leaders must work together to create a better future. Leaders must believe in this future. They must be excited about it. In turn, they must demonstrate accountability for making it happen.
THE RISK: People who don’t see themselves in the future won’t be motivated to build it.
If you as a leader aren’t communicating this kind of excitement to your team, you run the risk of cynicism and inaction settling in.
More specifically, as a team leader, you must ensure that your team understands how they fit in with the organization’s future. How is their work helping to drive the strategic shifts that need to happen? How might their roles change as the organization changes? What new opportunities might open up for team members in the future?
Change can be scary. When an organization changes, people are naturally going to wonder if their skills and experience are still valuable. If your team doesn’t believe that they have an important role in the organization’s future, they won’t be motivated to build it. Communicating excitement about the organization’s future direction is a crucial part of inspiring your team to do their best work.
WHAT TO PAY ATTENTION TO: Do you genuinely believe in your organization’s future?
One of the first things you must do when your organization is embarking on a strategic shift is to reconfirm your leadership decision. You need to understand the strategic story and be excited about it. And your excitement has to be genuine—if it’s not, your team and your colleagues will feel it.
What if you aren’t? What do you do? It’s important that you dig into this to understand what is going on. You may be missing some important information or just need more time.
You may also find that this change isn’t for you. To put it plainly, if you as a leader can’t express optimism about your organization’s future, it may be time to move on from that organization.
NEXT STEPS:
For more tips on how to create excitement about the future, order Community of Leaders today.
