When people compete, they get an answer. They either win or lose.
For competitors, what it means to win is straightforward and objective. They know quickly whether their effort, preparation, and strategy have paid off. After a loss, they can redouble their efforts to capture victory at the next contest.
Preparing for and knowing whether you will post a win today is both clarifying and motivating. In order to experience the thrill of victory tomorrow, we can dissect any decision, play, or strategy and rework it before the sun sets. This makes the next practice, the next day, and the next contest worth getting excited about.
The same idea applies to the workplace. When team members know what it means to win every day, they become more engaged and committed. Everyone enjoys winning, so they prepare and practice with vigor. Their ability to learn and improve goes up dramatically, as well.
The problem is that what it means to win every day in the workplace isn’t always clear. In fact, for many team members, what counts as winning lacks any clarity at all. Leaders can design scorecards so that every team member understands what it means to win. That produces an animated team with a commitment toward daily success.
There are many outcomes that create a winning feeling. Among them are doing work that aligns with personal values and passions, mastering a new skill, meeting a deadline, and reaching a milestone. But nothing beats the satisfaction of completing the highest priority of the day.
Every team member, regardless of role, has the ability to set and achieve a critical priority each day. Leaders who expect team members to articulate their highest priority of the day promote a focus on winning.
Asking team members to post whether they have accomplished this priority at the end of the workday is essentially requesting whether they won. Once team members rack up a set of daily wins, they enjoy highlighting their top priority for others and posting the outcome at the end of the day.
Just knowing what team members believe is their highest priority and having people share this with each other creates more engagement and interest. While this sounds laborious, it is actually quite easy.
Do your team members know what it means to win today?
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
