Alignment: The Secret of HighPerforming Organizations

Alignment

The Secret of HighPerforming Organizations

By Brad Harker, Author and Sales Growth Advisor

To truly unleash the intrinsic motivation of your employees, you must first reach them at a personal level and understand what inspires them.

Finding and retaining talent is often cited as a significant challenge for businesses in southern Utah. In a recent study of our local businesses, 45 percent of respondents agreed that “finding and retaining talent” negatively impacted their business in 2021. According to a 2019 Gallup poll, employee turnover was approaching 27 percent per year, costing U.S. business owners one trillion dollars annually.

As I engage with business owners throughout the country, a few related questions often quickly bubble to the surface. Where can I find the right people? How do I motivate them? What can I do to create a culture for them to succeed?

So what is the secret? After engaging with some of the best and worst organizations, here are two secrets I have discovered to find and retain talented employees. Alignment High-performing organizations understand the power of alignment (when job functions complement core competencies). A great example of alignment comes from the “first who, then what” metaphor popularized by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great. Collins’s research found that high-performing organizations prioritized finding the best talent and properly placing that talent in the right positions above the direction of the business. This organizational alignment, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. Alignment impacts performance on an individual level as well. To illustrate, Bain and Company recently completed a study contrasting the productivity of employees who were classified as being either satisfied, engaged, or inspired in the workplace. Here were the results:

• Satisfied employees were 40 percent more productive than non-satisfied employees. • Engaged employees were 44 percent more productive than their satisfied peers. • Inspired employees were 125 percent more productive than their satisfied peers. Inspired employees are aligned employees. It is very empowering to engage in a role or pursuit that complements our core competencies. Not only do we become more productive, we unlock an intrinsic motivation that fuels deep levels of fulfillment and growth. How, then, can we create high levels of alignment with our employees? For me, it starts with the interview.

One of the first questions I ask a new candidate in an interview is, “How would you describe your ideal career in five years from today?” The answer to this simple question is packed with important information. First, do they have a plan? If not, perhaps they lack motivation and direction. Next, does their five-year plan align with the job they are seeking? If not, there is a good chance they are looking for a short-term role. Motivation without career alignment is almost always futile. I would rather have six to twelve months of a highperforming and intrinsically motivated employee than two or even three years of a partially engaged and misaligned employee.

Empathy Establishing an aligned organization will certainly get you on the path to success. Sustained alignment, however, requires more than strategy; it requires empathy. To truly unleash the intrinsic motivation of your employees, you must first reach them at a personal level and understand what inspires them. No paycheck or incentive can save an employee who feels conflicted or misaligned with the role they fill. According to Gallup, “...52 percent of exiting employees said in the last three months before quitting, no manager came to have a meaningful conversation about how they were doing, how they felt about their work, and whether or not they were happy. Those managers also did not have a meaningful conversation with the employee about their future with the organization.” The most impactful breakthroughs I’ve experienced with employees didn’t come through training or correcting them professionally but from understanding and supporting them personally. In my regular one-on-one interviews with team members, I start by engaging them personally. Here are a few staple questions from my weekly interviews: • How are you doing (personally, professionally, in your family, etc.)? • What is going well for you in this role? • What could be improved? • Are we still on track with your long-range goals? Do we need to make any adjustments? • How can I support you to _________ (reach quota, clarify path, seek promotion, etc.)? These questions will always get to the core of an issue faster than a spreadsheet or graph or their performance fluctuations. Instead of focusing on performance or metrics, start with empathy to check alignment before questioning loyalty or ability! After all, we likely didn’t hire them because they weren’t qualified! Employees want to be seen and recognized. They want to be understood and valued for their strengths and contributions. They want to be mentored and inspired to reach higher levels of performance. They want to discover and realize their potential. As they discover and align with their potential, motivation and performance will follow. As employers, it is our unique opportunity to create an environment where employees can thrive. Inspired employees become productive employees who fuel the growth of our businesses. If you are recognizing opportunities to strengthen alignment, morale, or productivity within your organization, please visit our website www.bradharker.com or text us at (435) 292-3002 to schedule a free consultation.

Brad Harker is a published author, entrepreneur, and sales growth advisor. Brad has enjoyed an ambitious career spanning real estate development, corporate entrepreneurship, and more than a quarter-billion dollars in sales. Brad was born in Calgary, Canada, graduated from Brigham Young University, and has spent the last eleven years in St. George, Utah, with his wife and four children. You can learn more at www.bradharker.com.