The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

We have long maintained that one of the key drivers of worker discretionary effort is whether or not one’s work seems to matter. Along with a lot of others, I got a big, full color, Hi Def, 3-hour reminder of that today as I watched the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins football game.

As usual during the last week of the NFL regular season, some teams (e.g., the Redskins) were playing their hearts out to make it into the playoffs. Some teams (e.g., the Atlanta Falcons), with no hope of making the playoffs, played for pride. Others, with a playoff berth secure, and no hope of improving their position, mailed it in by resting their weary and protecting the stars. The Cowboys, with their playoff spot and home field advantage sewn up, took a little different approach. Though they played the regular starters at least through the first half, it was as if they were sleep walking.

This doesn’t just happen to athletes. It impacts each of us when we suspect that what we’re doing just doesn’t matter very much. I’ve seen bank tellers spend entire weeks in a deeper fog than the one the Cowboys were in tonight. Let’s all take this as a gentle reminder that it would likely be worth the effort to spend more time this year making darned certain that our people understand, really understand that their work matters.

Godspeed!

A thought leader in the areas of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, motivated, capably led workforce. For more information about Bill, his partner, Richard, and their work, please visit their website at www.ContentedCows.com

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