👉 CAN YOUR TEAM SEE THE BIG PICTURE?
Often leaders believe their teams are aware of the bigger picture, and yet when I speak to employees across all layers of the organization, the story I am told is very different.
For those who claim to see the bigger picture, I ask them to explain it to the rest of us, and in most cases they are unable to do it.
The fact is that many teams – even leaders – can’t see the big picture. Many people don’t have enough information to understand why certain decisions are taken, or what others are working on. With most of us putting our heads down and focusing on doing our daily jobs, we are unable to see how all the pieces fit together.
Seeing the big picture is about taking a step back from each of our respective jobs, roles and departments and asking ourselves: “What are we trying to accomplish in the first place?”.
Seeing the big picture takes practise. As a leader, start by filling in the blanks in the following sentence: “My company helps (ideal clients / customers) do / create (results they want to achieve) by (solutions offered to help achieve them).”
Once you can explain the above easily and simply, ask your people to fill in the gaps too. How well they are able to do so will tell you a lot about how aware they really are about the bigger picture.
Everyone comes to work wanting to do a good job, but they can’t operate beyond what they see. As a leader, you need to support your team in seeing the bird’s eye-view of work too, as well as helping them understand how what they do connects to the larger picture of the organization’s goals and success.
You can do so by sharing the big picture regularly, and making it a consistent part of your message, as well as connecting the big picture to their work – which most people are unable to see how those two go together.
Your people want to be part of work that matters and has meaning. They want to make a difference and bring value. One of the best ways to help people get that is to help them see what the company is about and where it is headed, so help them connect the dots, because your people will draw out much inspiration and meaning in their work.
By ensuring a clear line of sight that connects the day-to-day work of employees with the bigger picture, as well as constantly bringing it up in your communication, you’ll create a shared understanding and shared ownership of success, which in turn will help you develop a highly engaged, high-performing team.
Over to you now, how do you help your employees see the bigger picture?
To your success,
Isabel
Despite having to endure many hardships during this time, the part he found most challenging was walking barefoot through the villages in paths that were rocky and full of bristles and thorns at times.
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