Recently I began reading Leadershift by John Maxwell, who has sold millions of books sold and given decades of service to leadership development worldwide. If you can, I HIGHLY recommend that you pick this book up. I won't spoil the details but this book tells of the shift that individuals make from being individual contributors doing a job to people who who lead, motivate, and inspire others.
When discussing calling, a couple of quotes stood out to me:
- "When it's your calling, you won't have to chase it. You will be captivated by it."
- "Our calling is the gift we give the world while are still alive."
Most people associate callings with careers and endeavors that are much more charitable, altruistic, or even publicly valued careers like in sports, writing, media, etc.
How many people do you hear mentioning "Calling" and "S&OP" in the same sentence? Not many. It's spoken about in academic tones at conferences your boss sends you to. Certifications that advance your career and books that give you a lot of charts and meeting agenda topics.
It's unfortunate, because what we all do transforms companies and peoples lives. Companies that are not connected are not culturally strong for their employes. Poor service results in poor morale, and not just for the sales team member getting the complaints from the customer. Underperformance affects everyone. Companies with goals and a plan to get there are better to work for. Measuring performance, setting targets, and achieving results as a team are incredibly motivating for everyone involved.
Connecting these principles to those individual contributors at your company, let me ask you a few questions:
- How many warehouse workers would benefits from inventory on hand being right, accurate, and turning timely?
- How does a production supervisor feel making product when a significant amount of it is being wasted?
- Who enjoys running a production line 7 days a week on end knowing product is still being cut with no end in site to when help will come?
- How many leaders try to motivate with goal setting, metrics, and ownership without establishing priorities or the resourcing needed to get there?
I could add many more questions, but the point is made. If someone is a passionate engineer, quality manager, sales rep, or marketing brand ambassador I'm sure they can do the same.
Effective processes connecting teams changes lives. Performance success changes lives. Successes build morale, resumes, and customer perception of teams and companies. Growing teams grows the profession, for all companies.
Every time I network with teams and companies (big and small), it's evident that leaders need information. Individual contributors need an achievable plan. Effectiveness breeds more effectiveness, and it should be our calling.
If you haven't, go read Leadershift by John Maxwell. It's an exceptional book about the shift great leaders make as they transform into people who transform lives.
We're passionate about helping you transform your companies and teams. There are many ways to do it, and we're here to help you get there. Reach out to Velocity Advisors LLC to help you get the right product in the right place with effective teams and processes today.