Where Has All the “SPIRIT” Gone?

Many businesses today seem to have lost their spirit, even their interest in spirit. They operate with a vision and values that only faintly stir the hearts and souls of their employees. When heart and soul are missing, workers may withdraw or compensate through a variety of behaviors — compulsiveness, obsessiveness, addictive behaviors including overwork! These companies merely keep up with the demand, providing meager service. But ironically, many organizations have perfected their technological prowess, their analytical decision making abilities and their processes for accomplishing the work. Technology is worshipped but an emptiness pervades many businesses.

There is a plethora of books on the market today to help businesses understand and strengthen the relationship of spirit to teams and organization performance. The effort to unite spirit and teams and organizations arises out of research on high-performing systems that identifies spirit as a key underlying consideration in great teams and organizations. Now the term “spirit” might cause an uneasiness in some people. Try think of it as the energy that moves a team of people to provide exceptional products and services to their customers, the energy that makes individuals go beyond themselves so that the team’s results are more than the sum of the individuals’ potential. What is called for is relating and working together in a spirited way, so that a team can inspire bolder and more imaginative responses to the challenges confronting businesses today.

Teams are potentially the most powerful human resource a company can call to action. When a group of individuals is given the opportunity to effectively merge its ideas, energies and ambitions toward a common vision or goal, anything — from the difficult to the improbable, to the seemingly impossible — can be achieved. The value in teaching teams to build trust and then assess their current situation, pinpoint the actual source of conflict or roadblock and, ultimately, hold a productive dialogue in which an action plan can be developed cannot be underestimated. THIS is the way to be able to create a passionate, created and committed workforce that is working on the things that will enable your business or organization to come alive, grow, retain its employees and get incredible business results!!

Are you ready to invest in your teams now?