As I look through my past, I can honestly say that there were very few roles that I felt truly engaged. I think if we are all vulnerable, we can admit that we didn’t give 100% all the time, or maybe even rarely. When I did give a 100%, it was due believing in the mission or vision and the leader’s engagement with me as a mentor or coach. I was given a problem or challenge with the empowerment and tools to be successful. If I had a question, there was no hesitation and I felt comfortable asking a teammate or leader for help. I believe is this the key to setting a culture that drives engagement.

In my team’s work plan we have weekly one-on-one meetings. There are no prerequisites or deliverable for this meeting. This is strictly an opportunity to engage with my team and to see if there is any way I can assist them with their current tasks or projects. I also take this time to note positive behaviors that they have reflected. In some instances, this also provides an opportunity for constructive feedback and mentoring. The culture and moral on my team is very important to me. To ensure we maintain this, our collective work plan consists of quarterly Team Assessment Reports (TARs). The TARs are facilitated through Patrick Lencioni’s Table Group. The reports provide us with actionable team goals to improve our engagement and teamwork.

This plan will ensure our team operates cohesively and works together to identify the best solutions for our organization. As Patrick Lencioni states, “The single, greatest advantage any company can achieve is organizational health” (Lencioni, 2014). There is a direct correlation between organizational health and employee engagement as identified in the McKinsey’s group Organizational Health Index report (Palmer, 2018).

What motivates you to do better at your job? When I was asked this question, I had to really ponder before answering. Was it verbal recognition, more pay, bigger bonuses, more paid time off. As I continuously asked what I wanted more of, the answer for me was family time. I wanted to work as hard as I could to complete the task that need to be completed in a timely manner so that I could be complete with my day. As a Navy Chief I often used this as a motivational tool for my Sailors. I had a daily list broken down into two categories, the “had” to get done and the “wanted” to get done. The “wanted” usually led to achieving organizational goals. The workday in the Navy is pretty structured, but I was always willing to put my Sailors on liberty early if they worked hard and deserved it. I posted each list every day and my second-in-charge would drive the work to completion. Once the “had” to list was complete, the Sailors had the option to work on personal goals, such as career enticing qualifications, or work on the “wanted” list to go home early. Sailors who wanted to get promoted worked on personal goals, sailors who wanted to go home early worked on the “wanted” list. As I observed this routine for about a year, I was able to quickly identify my top performers, average performers, and low performers. What I really enjoyed about this paradigm is that the sailors could choose day to day. For example, many of my hard chargers would work on personal days throughout the week, but on Friday they would push the wanted list to enjoy an extended weekend.

As I build my workplan, I want to suite it for my team as a whole, but scalable to where it works for different motivation techniques for specific team members. Not all employees are motivated by the same thing. You need to find what entices your employees. I will identify 2 – 3 motivators that I will use to engage employees to be more productive. These motivators will be utilized as part of the R&R program (rewards and recognition). If a project team completes a project successfully two-weeks early and underbudget, they’ll get 50% of the time they saved off, plus share 5% of what they came in under budget.

Another work plan motivator I will apply is freedom within framework. I will provide the employees with the organizations end-result requirements and the restrictions to confine within. The team or employee can control their work schedule as long as they meet their daily, weekly, and monthly (if applicable) KPIs.

I have found some amazing examples or workplace motivators. If my leader can to me and told me that I could have as much time off as long as I did my job to a specific level. I would ensure that I gave every task 110% and completed early, so that I could enjoy my time off with family. We all go through different phases of life, some may be motivated by money while others by time-off. I’m in a transition where my kids need me to be there more for them, so I would choose time-off rather than to work longer for more money. But, giving employees the option to select is empowering and motivational.

As a leader, I need to earn the right to be an autocratic leader. To model this, I need to lead-by-example and exemplify the company’s core value. I must always treat everyone with respect, maintaining humbleness in all interactions. I have learned a lot of great insight and tools on how to be more humble through reading The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni.

I want my employees to be able to utilize their strengths and innovation. Providing freedom within a framework will result in increased employee drive and motivation.  To lead properly you must listen and communicate with your team. Effectively reflecting provides a platform to give guiding feedback and recognition.

Week 1 opened our eyes and minds to a new leadership paradigm, Open Source. We learned that no matter how great your leadership skills are, 20% of your employees will always be low performing employees. Don’t worry about, there is nothing you can do about it, instead, focus on your top 20% of employees. These are the employees who are driving your organization’s success.

Open Source is bigger than leading an organization to become successful. It is about creating a better future for all of mankind. Leaders will be followed because of their values, not because of a title.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.