As my post at the end of September alluded I have been on a journey reading and processing the book "The Why of Work" By Dave and Wendy Ulrich. The Ulriches and the book have a web site: http://thewhyofwork.com/ . After quickly being captured by some startling research and time contemplating the section titled 'Leaders who focus on Meaning create an abundant response', I took a few weeks to think about the "Seven Questions that Drive Abundance". In this examination I am reviewing what they Ulrich's write on employee contributions.
"As a leader, you create a more abundant organization when you help employees clarify their personal identity and enhance their signature strengths and then help them see how those strengths fit with the goals and values of the organization."
The Ulrich's suggest a 5 step process to achieve this:
1. Help employees define and grow their personal strengths. - There is a web site authentichappiness.org that offers a survey "VIA Survey of Character Strengths". A baseline tool to support your employees identifying their strengths.
2. Define and build organizational capabilities required for success.
3. Meld personal strengths and organizational capabilities.
4. Determine customer and investor expectations.
5. Connect both personal and organizational identities with the needs of customers and investors.
In the non profit world this seems like an overwhelming task and I initially wonder is it even worth is considering the high turn over rate our sector is faced with. I wonder about myself and can think of times that i have been given a task that built the organizational capacity that also utilized and strengthened by personal strengths. These projects as stand along projects were a value added investment to the organization regardless of the length of time I stayed in my position. In honest reflection these projects expanded my time with the organization as an employee.
When I was working in a youth mentoring program our volunteers would fill out an interest survey that we used to match them with a youth who shared similar interests. I am confidant that a similar system could be used for both staff and volunteers to identify who is best suited to tasks needed to meet customer (Client) and investor (donor) expectations.
"As a leader, you create a more abundant organization when you help employees clarify their personal identity and enhance their signature strengths and then help them see how those strengths fit with the goals and values of the organization."
The Ulrich's suggest a 5 step process to achieve this:
1. Help employees define and grow their personal strengths. - There is a web site authentichappiness.org that offers a survey "VIA Survey of Character Strengths". A baseline tool to support your employees identifying their strengths.
2. Define and build organizational capabilities required for success.
3. Meld personal strengths and organizational capabilities.
4. Determine customer and investor expectations.
5. Connect both personal and organizational identities with the needs of customers and investors.
In the non profit world this seems like an overwhelming task and I initially wonder is it even worth is considering the high turn over rate our sector is faced with. I wonder about myself and can think of times that i have been given a task that built the organizational capacity that also utilized and strengthened by personal strengths. These projects as stand along projects were a value added investment to the organization regardless of the length of time I stayed in my position. In honest reflection these projects expanded my time with the organization as an employee.
When I was working in a youth mentoring program our volunteers would fill out an interest survey that we used to match them with a youth who shared similar interests. I am confidant that a similar system could be used for both staff and volunteers to identify who is best suited to tasks needed to meet customer (Client) and investor (donor) expectations.
