Drive the team engine
Corporate Sufi offers valuable lessons on team engagement
You can set your goals using your own innate gift. However, you will need the support of others to realise your dreams. Great success is usually achieved through team effort. Engaging others enables everyone to feel valued while contributing effectively.
Lack of engagement of key employees and lack of alignment, leading to loss of potential and power of these individuals, are debilitating problems.
During a strategic planning session at a retreat for one of our clients, an executive from the finance department commented on how useful the session was for him. He said that in all the years he had worked for the organisation, all he was exposed to was finance. But the session gave him a view of the big picture and facilitated better understanding of the business as a whole.
For another client, the strategic planning exercise helped the team focus on key priorities and execution. Prior to this they were ’all over the board’, with no sense of focus or direction. The exercise helped them strengthen their marketing ideas and resolve. They were able to identify methods of expanding their business and reaching new clients.
While doing a strategic planning exercise, you will sometimes find personality clashes creeping in, when people try to protect their turf and ensure their priorities take precedence over those of others. When this happens, revisit the shared vision.
Capacity building begins with engagement of the team. The more engaged people are, the more they will understand, contribute and tap into their creativity and innovation. You can then expect them to take initiative and share ’outside the box‘ ideas. If you fail to engage them, they will be passive staff waiting for instructions before they commit to anything.
Alignment among teams
A corporation can set goals that are aligned to its brand. However, if there is no alignment between the top, middle and ’floor‘ teams, the results will not be optimal.
This is a preview of the article published in the July 2012 issue of Complete Wellbeing
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Azim Jamal is an international best-selling author, highly sought-after motivational speaker, author and coach. His dynamic and inspiring Corporate Sufi message has been heard by over one million people around the world–and his work has been recognised by thought leaders Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, and Ken Blanchard.
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