How can we describe the situation that exists currently due to Corona Virus?
Unprecedented? Untaught? Unheard of?
However you describe it, it can be unanimously agreed upon, that this global pandemic has caused ‘Total Disruption.’ The current concern of the corona disrupted world is not centered on beating the pandemic but on the fight that is waged within us. With the sense of loneliness increasing every day, people are on the lookout for ‘Finding a Meaning’ in their daily endeavors. This is because finding a ‘purpose’ and ‘meaning’ in life makes it worth living.
The current pandemic leaves the managers and leaders with a new enduring and daunting task of reframing or re-crafting ‘The Meaning,’ without which it would be very difficult to sustain and maintain the work engagement and personal motivation equation. This becomes more pertinent if you want your team members to do a great job.
The term ‘meaning’ has to be perceived and interpreted from two sides, one from the originator’s eyes and the other from the receptionist’s end. The connecting thread between this equation is the ‘value’ that results from it and is received by both parties. The trust is further strengthened once both parties recognize the value that is built through the resulting relationship. As there are perception and cognition involved in the game, it becomes even more important to define the value in advance so that both members are benefited. Below are a few challenges thrown to the leader while reframing or re-writing the ‘value’ / ‘meaning’ puzzle.
1. Outlining ‘meaning’ or ‘value’ without any indistinctness.
2. Understanding how ‘meaning’ or ‘value’ adds to the organization’s contribution equation.
3. Ensuring ‘meaning’ or ‘value’ stimulates and engrosses the employees to contribute to the bigger picture.
So, what are the means or drivers by which a Leader can define ‘meaning’ and ‘value’ in the employer-employee relationship?
1. Contribution – The Leader should emphasize his/her team that they have joined the organization to create an impact and not to simply complete their tasks. The reason for their joining is to create a meaningful impact. The job in itself should excite the team to contribute and not just create a culture of doing a job.
2. Learning – Every task/activity inside a job should focus on creating a meaning. The tasks should:
- Drive a sense of curiosity
- Provide a climate conducive to experimenting and taking risks
- Create an environment that allows failing and creating lifelong learning
3. Sense of Attainment – As ‘Goal Theory’ goes, instill feedback/challenges and specificity in all tasks so that the owner himself seeks and understands the meaning out of it.
4. Status Identity – When the organization’s purpose is big, that in itself brings a change in the way employees perceive it. Employees’ self-esteem gets tied to the organization’s purpose.
5. Social Identity – Employees get engaged and committed and find meaning if they realize their contributions are towards a greater cause!
So, what should the leaders avoid doing?
1. Stressing employees needlessly – Give employees enough time and space to find their meaning. Micromanagement doesn’t solve the problem either.
2. Asking employees to overwork or stretch – Discretionary effort has to come within and not through a norm or guide.
3. In the end, the manager’s job is to create a ‘social identity’ so that the team is attached and motivated to do an incredible job. Cohesiveness is a function of enduring trust, and hence it is important to build it.
4. Instill the practice of questioning – Unlike the popular idiom, curiosity and questioning have never killed anyone. So instill it for enduring success.
5. Give time for them to unplug from the social world and cultivate relationships and craft meaning in everything they do. In the end, the contribution has an element of creative potential.
Finding meaning in the work that is done will help one enjoy it and be more productive. Managers and Leaders should help their employees find value in their daily jobs and help them realize that their contributions make a change. With more organizations embracing remote working, employees might have a tough time dealing with the lack of social interaction. During times like these, it becomes highly important to boost their morale and impart value to the work that they accomplish.