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September 2005

Perceptions Influence Level of Employee Engagement

The story is old and probably familiar, but it illustrates a
powerful point.

One morning, during the construction of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Sir Christopher Wren, the Cathedral’s architect, came upon two stonecutters, and asked what they were doing. The first man answered, 'I’m cutting stone.'

But the second man said, 'I’m part of a group that’s building a cathedral.'

This story demonstrates how your perception of what you do profoundly affects how engaged you are in your work. You might remember that last month I wrote about the importance of employee engagement.

I thought of this the other day when I was having lunch with an executive in the financial services industry. I asked what was the purpose of his job, of his organization. His first response was “bringing in more accounts, preferably large volume accounts.”

I asked if there wasn’t more to it than that. He replied, “I know where you’re going. Profitability. Yes, we want to improve our company’s profitability.”

I decided to dig a little deeper, so I asked, “What keeps you doing this job?” At first, he talked about his training and education in the financial services industry, and then talked about providing for his family.

Eventually, he came to the idea of “helping people” by managing their investments.

Ah, I thought, now we’re getting to “building a cathedral.” You see, I believe that to engage ourselves, and those we’re leading, we must be aware of a noble purpose, or cause, in what we do.

To illustrate this, I looked around the restaurant and said, “You see that guy over there? By providing sound financial advice, you’re helping him get a new house.

"Or over there, you’re helping that single mom start her own business. Or the couple in the corner, you’re helping them provide an education for their children.”

In short, I said, you’re helping people achieve their dreams.

Which would engage your passions, would motivate you to do the best you could? Looking at yourself as a financial advisor? Or as someone who helps others achieve their dreams?

It’s not just a matter of semantics. It’s about how you
perceive your role in this complex world we live in, because your perception of that role influences how well you perform in that role. Everyone needs to feel a part of a noble purpose, a grander scheme in life.

Otherwise, what you’re doing is “just a job.” No more, no less.

And when your attitude is “it’s just a job,” how hard will you work? You’ll probably do just enough to get by. But that’s not enough for us as leaders. No, we want to do the best we can, and we want to inspire others to do the best they can.

I don’t care what industry you’re in, you must have a sense of noble purpose. You may have to look for it, but you can find it.

People who aren’t engaged in their work are usually task
oriented. They, like the first stonecutter, are focused only on the task or activity at hand. It’s hard to get excited, or passionate, about that.

Engaged employees, on the other hand, are focused on the purpose; they are purpose oriented. My colleague from the financial services industry only got excited when he talked about helping people achieve their financial dreams. That is his company’s purpose.

What about you? You know that I believe leadership is
everyone’s business, regardless of whether you’re an “official” leader. Are you focused on just a job? Or on the noble purpose? More important, what about those around you?

What are you doing to get those around you to see the noble purpose? Are you, and they, cutting stone? Or building a cathedral?

Until next edition, keep leading the way!

Copyright (C) 2005 by Terry Wall

 

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