Every Vote Counts! What are yours saying?

· by Alicia Leary

Alicia is the Marketing Team Lead at HTI. She started her career with HTI in 2015 as a Sales Coordinator.
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It’s not what you think. I am not here to pontificate about either political party or whose comb-over is more hypnotic.

On November 10th of 2014, someone said something to me that has fundamentally changed how I view the world and my place in it. I had the opportunity to work with a great facilitator in the upstate named Will Gray regarding accountability and our role as leaders.

While, I must admit, I do not remember many of the items discussed, he said one thing that I think about it every day:

“Every decision you make is a vote for a way of life. What are your votes saying?”

I have an amazing job that allows me to spend my days working with the most talented people I have ever met. I work with countless clients to help define a better culture and a more dynamic place where people not only work, but thrive.

Every day, we cast votes about what our company’s mission, vision, and culture will be. Some are as direct as a call to action but others may be as subtle as a smile and a kind word. The votes of leadership send ripples throughout an organization and can instantly change the tide of progress; positively or negatively.

Whether you paint it on the wall, publish it in marketing literature, or chant it at  corporate gatherings; whatever your mission statement, vision statement, or Why; your votes define your culture.

When it comes to corporate culture we tend to see our votes count most in three areas; Vision, Performance, and Leadership.

Vision– This is crucial. If you have read any of my previous articles, you will see it is a recurring theme. If you do not know who your organization is or what it stands for, how can you effectively communicate this to your team, your customers, and your competitors? How can you expect to build an organization whose words, thoughts, and actions are in harmony?

While financial milestones, return on investment, and healthy profit margins are important to the success of any organization, they are not inspirational. Employees want to feel that they are part of a vision that is greater than themselves. Millennials, who will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025, commonly focus on the ability to affect the world in a positive manner and will sacrifice income for this.

How do the votes of your leadership team and your company as a whole speak to your vision? Are you developing those associates that live your vision and hiring only those candidates that will enhance your culture?

Performance– Who is the weak link in your organization? (Everyone reading this just had a face pop into their head.)

We owe it to our high performers to recognize and reinforce their behaviors, and to develop our underachievers. Every day that a poor performer is allowed to continue, a vote has been cast that this level of performance is acceptable. Eventually, your high performers will come to realize that it is okay to coast from time to time, because (insert name of the person you are thinking of here) is allowed to.

To be successful at anything you need three things: Knowledge, Ability, and Desire. Knowledge can be attained, Ability can be coached, but Desire either exists or it doesn’t. When assessing your weak performers, if Desire is the missing link, make sure that the votes your organization is casting are not the reason that desire has been lost.

Leadership– This one is simple. Once you know what you stand for, live it! There is a danger in this and you need to embrace it before you begin the journey.

Cynthia Occelli said it best. “For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”

Understand that once a vision is formed and a mission started, every vote you cast will be a measure of your commitment to both. Not everyone will understand or complete the journey with you, which is often why these initiatives are abandoned. However, to be successful, the vision must be consistent and originate from the top of the organization.

Now that you have read this, it is time to vote. Are the votes you are casting on a daily basis in line with what you want your organization to be? Are the votes of your leadership team and associates in line with your vision?

If the answer to either of these is no, you owe it to your employees, your customers, and yourself to step up to the ballot box and change your vote.