3 Keys to a Vision Others Can Own Trying to get others to buy into a vision that is all about you getting more money is not going to excite people.
By Zech Newman Edited by Dan Bova
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I get really excited about my dreams. Over the years, as I have led my team, I have realized that they aren't as excited about my dreams as I am. I own two restaurants and employ minimum wage employees. In the early years of owning my restaurants, turnover killed me. I used to fight for them to have the same passion for my goals and dreams as I had and as a result I had extremely high turnover. Confused and frustrated, I knew I needed to change the way I was leading a team.
A few little changes have created a committed team and extremely low turnover. If you don't have a passionate, committed long-term team, check these simple vision casting strategies.
Related: 5 Companies Getting Employee Engagement Right
Deeper Vision
Often our vison that we cast is shallow and self-serving. A vision that is all about you getting more money is not going to excite people. Take some time to uncover what you are trying to accomplish. When you can cast a vision beyond your selfish desires, others can sink their teeth into the vision. For my company, I wanted to raise up leaders to change the community. My focus changed to my crew and they could feel the shift in perspective, which also helped me to earn a biproduct of more money, my original desire.
Related: Corporate Charity Is What Inspires Greater Employee Engagement
Their Vision
Our deeper vison helps us keep and build a team, but it's still our vison. We need to really understand the goals and dreams of our team to find untapped potential and loyalty. No one will ever care as much about our vision as us because it's ours. The more focused you get about helping your team and their wants and desires, the more they will care about yours. In my restaurant I had a young lady who wanted to be a teacher. I thought about what it takes to be a great teacher and how I could help her toward that. Find out what they care about and dig deeper to see what is behind that desire.
Related: 7 Excellent Reasons to Focus on Employee Engagement
Marry the Two
If you have a team running around caring only about their vision they may be loyal and passionate, however, they will not be united in one direction. Magic happens when we combine our vision and their vision. At the points of intersection, our interests and theirs are united to accomplish more. I want to encourage leaders who can change the community. As for the employee I mentioned above who desired to be a teacher, I trained her toward being a better teacher so that she could raise up young leaders to change the community. Now she is one of my top supervisors and teaches many other crew members. She will be an awesome teacher someday, but in the meantime, she is a valuable team member.
Caring for a team and helping them see how your vision and their vision can help each other will change everything. Growing people is the business no matter what business we are in. Care for others and they will care for you. Care only for your own wants and you will never get the most out of your team. Find a deeper vision, figure out your teams' vision, and combine the two and your business will transform.
