From time to time we are asked questions about applying The Living Organization™ model to real world situations. I thought it would be helpful to share those queries in our blog.
Many of our employees that joined our firm as we grew don’t seem to be aligned with the original vision we founded the company on, and just seem to be here for the paycheck. How do we address this?
This is a question that centers on what we refer to as the Context Field of Energy. What is indicated by this question is that people are not drawing from their Personal Context fields and contributing that personal energy into the efforts of the organization as a whole. As we know, the Context Field has an exponential impact and when it is low the overall energy contribution is significantly diminished. It is often experienced and expressed with a statement such as “the energy in the organization just feels flat.”
The Context Field is governed by Purpose and Meaning, so if it is lacking, it indicates that the employees are not integrating their personal Purpose and Meaning with the Soulful Purpose of the organization. When these remain disconnected, then all that is left is the paycheck, which we know is not a primary motivator.
A way to better understand the root causes are to ask some basic questions:
- Have we clearly identified our organizations Soulful Purpose?
- How do we communicate our Soulful Purpose? (Hint: story telling works better than plaques on the wall)
- How well do our leaders connect with our employees as individuals with their own Soulful Purpose? Do our managers know what their employees find meaningful and purposeful?
Unless and until all the cells of the organism are aligned in working towards the same Soulful Purpose energy will be dissipated and lost throughout the system. It will not be operating in optimal health and could even enter a cancerous phase. By learning the skills necessary to pay attention to the energy of the Context Field leaders can ensure their organizations are realizing their fullest potential with minimum energy loss.