Having a meaningful vision to work towards, is a strong source of motivation for employees. Companies can use storytelling to better communicate and reinforce the organizational vision.
Most workers, many of whom are millennials, approach a role and a company with a highly defined set of expectations. They want their work to have meaning and purpose. Gallup, SOAW 2017 Report.
Consider the story and shared mission of Space X employees: To make manned missions to Mars for future colonization.
Space X and NASA recently teamed up to send astronauts into space in a joint venture. This is the first time a private company has sent humans into space and drastically reduces the cost NASA has been paying to send people to the space station. That the rocket can be reused is even more incredible and makes space flight more affordable.
Communicate Vision to All Employees
How does someone like Musk come along and get people to join in what is surely a very risky venture and work towards awe-inspiring moonshots?
One word: Vision
But that’s not all,
The ability of the founder (and the rest of the organization) to communicate it effectively becomes critical.
Take SpaceX’s own vision statement – “SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not.”
It then goes on to say “Today, SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.”
Are you surprised that we have a Tesla vehicle docked at the international space station?
But,
One might ask “Why can’t my company do inspiring stuff like SpaceX?” Why can’t most companies be in this situation?
It’s not because there is a dearth of business leaders with vision. What is usually missing is the ability to get the workforce excited about that vision.
“Stories are a communal currency of humanity.” Tahir Shah (Arabian Nights)
Using Stories to Motivate Employees
Ever since Cro-Magnon man figured out that iron oxide and manganese can be used to draw images on cave walls, storytelling has been the mainstay of how mankind delivered messages. Technology has grown by leaps and bounds. Mobiles, Instant Messaging, Virtual Reality, the list goes on and on. But the human brain is still a victim of evolutionary friction.
The human brain still relies on a story to make sense out of the content it processes. So just statements or data-points don’t work. If you think it only takes being a charismatic leader to walk into the annual town-hall and rouse the masses, think again.
There has to be a powerful story to really motivate people and Psychology Today outlines why there are several psychological reasons why this is so.
- Stories have been the primary source of communication since the time our ancestors left the trees.
- Stories transcend generations and engage us through emotions.
- Stories are how human beings make sense of life and how we think. This includes mental models, schemas, and mind maps.
- Stories appeal to our inner wiring. They connect with the right-brain and trigger our imagination. And when that happens we participate in the narrative!
Understanding Vision, Mission, & Values Because It Is Your Culture
Before we get into how you can get employees excited about your vision, let’s sidestep a bit and differentiate between Vision, Mission, Values, and Goals. Organizations (and very smart people who run them) often get confused about what is what.
- Vision: This is a short statement of where you would like to get to – the overarching statement of the reason you (the organization and all its stakeholders) exist.
- Mission: This is the sub-text to the vision. A follow-up statement on how you intend to get where your vision says you want to get to. Think of this as the BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) you wish to achieve over time and how you are going to go about it.
- Values:These are the guiding principles that tell people how they are expected to behave on a daily basis while working towards fulfilling the mission statement.
- Goals: These are your immediate, quantifiable, measurable targets split from Organization level all the way down to department/team levels.
3 Steps to Engage Employees in the Company Mission and Values
Now that we know what the differences are, how do you get people excited about the big picture?
1. Tie the Organizational Vision to Team/Individual Goals.
“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.”—Robert McKee
Several organizations go to great lengths to communicate the vision statement to all employees – verbatim as the leaders have stated it. It’s printed on large placards and put up in lobbies, the cafeteria, and the library.
More enthusiastic companies have it printed on the back-side of the employee identity cards. But, sadly, many then miss the crucial step of helping teams and individuals understand how to align their goals with that of the organization.
It’s critical that everyone in the company understands how their contribution helps the organization move towards its vision. That’s when things fall into place.
2. Make the Vision Statement Inspiring and Motivating.
“Great stories happen to those who can tell them.” –Ira Glas
Vision statements are a call-to-arms for the workforce. Employees contribute substantial time out of their lives to your company. The best vision statements are those that inspire the stakeholders, employees, investors, and customers to align.
Some of my favorite vision statements are from Uber and Airbnb.
Uber: Transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone
Airbnb: Belong anywhere
Those simple statements communicate everything that the company stands for. When anecdotes and stories about how Uber or Airbnb are helping their customers are told, that core vision gets reinforced – and motivates people to do more than just work for a paycheck.
3. Ensure that the message is communicated consistently and across multiple channels.
“The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.” –Mary Catherine Bateson
Communicating the company vision isn’t just for the CEO or the HR team. The message found in the vision won’t sink in unless the entire leadership believes in and reiterates the vision. Managers should reinforce how actions are aligned with the vision.
The company’s vision statement should be the focal point around which everything revolves.
The Critical Role of Recognition and Company Vision
Recognition of work done aligning with the credo of the vision is a powerful way to communicate and reinforce the vision statement.
First, ensure that your employees see the vision in action.
How?
If your vision says men will go to Mars, work towards that. Don’t try to make money launching low-earth communication satellites. Or, if the vision says you are a customer-centric company, don’t fail to respond to customer queries and support requests.
Next,
Ensure that actions walk the talk are recognized and rewarded. This process can be gamified and can have a social layer added to increase visibility and motivation levels. These actions ensure that the story around the vision is built.
Finally,
Leverage technology to celebrate the stories. Share success stories of how employees aligned with the vision were rewarded across the organization. These stories amplify the message of how people are valued in the organization and that the vision is a living, meaningful statement around which the organizational story is being woven.
Conclusion
Storytelling turns a vision statement into a relatable, living thing. It helps employees to connect and better understand their role in the company.
About Thanks
Thanks is a leading provider of a recognition-based platform that increases communication, builds teamwork, and makes recognition a part of company culture. Fast, easy and simple Thanks makes it easy to bring data-driven employee recognition to your entire organization. O.C. Tanner purchased the Thanks platform in 2019 to fulfill the recognition needs of smaller businesses.
Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition. Thanks is a subsidiary of OC Tanner.