Sustainable excellence requires effective teamwork, and effective teamwork requires that everyone be focused on the same intentions. Leaders and team members alike can improve the chances for success by assuring that everyone stays focused, even in the midst of competing demands and resource challenges. Here are five ways to help people focus their intentions on sustainable excellence.
1. Spread the mission
The first way to focus intentions is to adopt and talk about a mission statement for your organization or project. This may seem elementary, but countless organizations flounder for lack of a shared understanding of the mission. Work together as a team to decide what it is you are trying to accomplish. Communicate this mission consistently to everyone involved. Then watch and listen carefully to make sure people really do understand and live the mission.
2. Inspire the vision
A second way to focus intentions is to inspire a shared vision of success. The vision of success is the answer to the question, 'What will things look like around here when we are successful with our health quality innovation project?" Bring people together and try to answer this question as a team. Talk about what success should like like in your organization or initiative. Just as important, ask people to articulate their vision of success for the organization and themselves in their particular role.
3. Live the values
A third way to focus intentions is to define and model the strategic values of the organization. Examples of strategic values might include customer service, shared trust, smart collaboration, intelligent innovation, and being a learning organization, to name a few. Keep these values in the front of your mind, and live them in every decision and action you take. Also gently but firmly refocus people who are drifting away from these values.
4. Focus the goals
Mission, vision, and values are 'big-picture' strategic intentions. Goals are the immediate aims of the project - things that need to be accomplished within the short term. In the midst of conflicting demands and fast-paced action, it can be easy for anyone to forget or become confused about the immediate goals. Talk about goals every day in individual conversations and in quick team huddles.
5. Define the strategies
Mission, vision, values, and goals form the foundation of your organization or initiative. The next step is to clearly define the strategies you are following to achieve your mission and goals. It is especially important to make sure team members at all levels understand the key strategies the team is pursuing. This will help all team members stay motivated and make good discretionary decisions.
Summary
One key to sustainable excellence is to keep everyone focused on the same set of intentions. Five ways to focus intentions include
- Spread the mission
- Inspire the vision
- Live the values
- Focus the goals
- Define the strategies
