Why do some people in leadership positions seem to get so much more out of their people than others? There are a multitude of reasons why and I could not possibly cover all of them here. So I am going to focus on a few of the ones I have noticed again and again in successful teams and organizations I have worked with.

Clearly the culture of your organization is the key, but how do you create a culture that gets the most out of its people. The first step is to make sure everyone in the organization is valued as an integral part of their individual group within the organization and each group is valued in the organization as a whole. Make awards and commendations attainable for all levels of your organization.

Another key component is to keep people in your organization motivated. You can do this by implementing goals and incentives throughout your organization that are not too far out in front of your people. This will keep them striving to better themselves and thus your organization. Big goals sound good and have their place, but are hard for people to get their minds around and too far off in the distance to keep people motivated on a daily basis. When goals and incentives are just out of reach, and adjusted once reached, they keep morale high and your people enthused.

People can always achieve more than they think they can. Unfortunately most people do not know how to tap the potential they have inside of them, but it’s there for everyone and will come out if they work hard enough. A good leader gets people mentally ready for whatever comes and inspires them to work hard. One way of doing this is to keep your people mindful of the opportunities that are liable to come up within the organization.

Preparation and enthusiasm keep people on their toes and give them a mental edge over others. I always tell the people I work with that if they stay ready and motivated they have the power to create their own opportunities. At any moment you could be thrust into a situation that could change your life forever. The question is whether you have prepared in a way to take advantage of them when these opportunities arise? Most people complain that they never get a chance to shine, but I have found that they are usually not seeing things clearly. These people had plenty of opportunities, but were not prepared or mentally ready when they came, and let those opportunities pass them by. As Whitney M. Young Jr. said, “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” A good leader makes sure people are ready when opportunity strikes them.

Sometimes seemingly meaningless tasks are a chance to stand out if you are mentally ready when called upon. Whether it’s the employee who happened to be the only one left in the office who was asked to proof read a memo for her boss, found a couple of mistakes, and ended up getting promoted or the pro athlete who got into his first game of the year -with only a few games left in the season- after a teammate got poked in the eye and did so well he played meaningful minutes in every remaining game to finish the year.

Do you as a leader in your organization teach mental readiness to ensure that your employees are ready when opportunity knocks on their door? If you don’t, you can be certain you are not getting all you can out of your employees or doing what’s best for the success of your company.

Posted in The Mind Side Blog