Do You Give Employees a Reason to Feel Proud of What They Do?

Imagine packing up an evening snack, grabbing a blanket, getting in your car and heading to the lawn of your local university. When the music starts all the visitors on campus go silent as a series of custodians, landscapers, electricians, and construction crews show off their skills to an original dance piece called “From the Ground Up.”

Yes, folks, this really happened in October 2019 on the campus of Wake Forest University in NC. Bill Taylor wrote an article about the event to highlight an important leadership skill: The importance of showing how much you value your employees and helping them feel proud of what they do.

In his Harvard Business Review article titled, “Do You Give Employees a Reason to Feel Proud of What They Do?” Taylor describes the Wake Forest event as “Think Cirque du Soleil, but with lawn mowers, trucks, ladders, brooms, hammers, and drills.”  The Campus Facilities Staff, who often work invisibly behind the scenes doing the least glamorous work, “showcased their skills, creativity and humor to the delight of the community” at three evening performances over three days.

Throughout the article, Taylor makes the point that pride in one’s work is an essential ingredient to ensure every person in an organization is working at peak performance. This is especially important in an organization that provides services to others.

As a business owner or senior leader, what have you done lately to make sure your employees feel valued and have pride in what they do for you and your company?  If you can’t remember, schedule time this week to sit down with your leadership staff and brainstorm creative ways to spotlight your employees as a step towards creating a deeper spirit of belonging and pride throughout your organization.

To read the entire article Taylor wrote, click here.  You can also watch the promotional clip about the Wake Forest event here:  From The Ground Up.

Credit: hbr.org

If this article was helpful and prompted you with an increased desire to improve your effectiveness as a leader so you can take your team to the next level, contact us to learn more about our Aepiphanni Ascend Leadership Development program.  Fill out the form below and we’ll be happy to schedule a Coffee & Consult to chat in more detail about how we can help.

Kris Cavanaugh Castro is the People Development Coach at Aepiphanni, a Business Consultancy that provides Management Consulting, Implementation and Managed Services to business leaders and entrepreneurs seeking to improve or expand operations. We are the trusted advisor for business leaders who are seeking forward-thinking solutions to help them plan for and navigate through the challenges of business growth.  Kris has over 25 years of coaching, training and mentoring leaders to greater success; and she periodically writes about leadership development and facilitates change management conversations.

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