Creating an Environment of Significance: Three Ways to Empower Your Team
Mark Sanborn once said, “The first job of a leader is to prove significance. Because unless or until people feel significant, they won’t even come close to making significant contributions.”
When team members understand and believe in the purpose of their organization, they feel valued, significant, and motivated to contribute meaningfully. However, creating an environment where everyone feels significant is not always straightforward.
Assessing Significance
How significant do your team members feel in their roles? It’s important to regularly evaluate how you’re making each person feel valued. Their perception of their own significance often correlates with their performance and commitment.
Three Ways to Foster a Sense of Significance
1 – Prove significance
Ensure each team member knows how vital they are to the organization. Regularly remind them of their importance and the impact they make. Ask them about the type of work that makes them feel most significant and empower them to excel in those areas.
– Be present
– Be interested
– Be open
– Be honest
2 – Create a Sense of Purpose
Help your team members discover and connect with their own purpose. Assist them in understanding how their individual purposes align with the organization’s overarching mission. This alignment fosters a deeper sense of significance and commitment.
– Discover your own purpose
– Help others find their purpose
– Connect individual purposes to the organization’s purpose
3 – Fulfillment
Engage in regular conversations to understand what motivates each team member. Discover their passions and strengths, and provide opportunities for them to excel and grow.
– Fill their cup to the brim
– Create platforms to showcase strengths
– Give opportunities to master work
Live Your Purpose
As a leader, live out your purpose and share your vision with your team. When everyone understands and embraces their purpose, they are motivated to contribute to something noble and purposeful.
By implementing these strategies, you create an environment where every team member feels significant, valued, and motivated to make significant contributions.
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