We use projects to create workplace synergy, and synergy doesn’t happen when people work alone. Ignore the buzz-wordiness of synergy for a moment, embrace the abundance mentality it can generate, and imagine the possibilities when 1+1=3. Like so much else in life, it’s all in your attitude. In business, we need to consider projects the action-packed catalytic converters which make things happen for us. As the adage goes, if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re gonna get what you’ve always got— and nothing more. Nothing extraordinary. Anything less than extraordinary doesn’t get you work that lights your fire, or work which leads you to believe you can take on the whole world. Outstanding project work does. You start by choosing the right projects to begin with, and as a first step you create a vision worth drooling over, a “ooh, we want that bad” kind of picture of the results the project can deliver for you. Great managers don’t open themselves up to getting assigned a boring project by someone else; they’re already busy super-charging the workplace with the ones they decided on because they were way more exciting and attractive to them, and they were way more fun to engage with and devote their attentions to. They were worth all the time and effort because they were so enjoyable. When we are proactive about choosing great projects and initiating worthwhile work through them, we spice up activity in our workplaces so that they are vibrant, dynamic places to be. We kill routine, boredom, complacency and mediocrity by changing things up, and introducing newness in a way that is exciting and energizing. You can do the same thing. For starters, be willing to change your point of view. Think about the wins you could be experiencing if all those pending projects were reshaped and reconfigured like colorful canisters of Play Doh or Silly Putty in the hands of staff you have mentored to be creatively enthusiastic about them. Imagine that you never procrastinate about starting a project again, because with your new attitude and no-holds-barred approach, project work means you get;
Work that is fun, while it achieves something grand and significant. Wins feel good, and people love to be on triumphant teams.
Camaraderie and better rapport among an entire team, because they have achieved those wins together, and while cheering each other on in admiration of great work done.
Better retention, for no one who is experiencing how work can be exceptionally enjoyable can imagine leaving your company and finding the same thing elsewhere.
No sacred cows, no automatic pilot, no settling for mediocrity. Instead, you get learning and creativity, innovation and reinvention, because a “project” means something new, and “new” is always chosen on purpose.
Pervasive optimism and enthusiasm in the workplace, because you have created an atmosphere where no one ever need settle for the way things are, and positive energy begets more energy and excitement. People smile and laugh all the time, and everyone notices, even your customers and suppliers.
All of this from project work? Why not? Great managers elevate the ways in which we work together, and they know a sure-fire way to do that is to champion power-packed projects which achieve meaningful results while introducing elements of enjoyment and fun. Don’t accept another routinely-chosen assignment again: If you must accept it, don’t allow it to be boring and common. Pick your project attitude, intend to deliver a result that wins big-time, and reinvent your team’s passion for worthwhile work in the process. Related posts:
Lōkahi: How managers impact teams.
Run a WOW Campaign.
Rosa Say is the author of Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business and the Talking Story blog. She is also the founder and head coach of Say Leadership Coaching, a company dedicated to bringing nobility to the working arts of management and leadership. Rosa’s Previous Thursday Column was: The Six Basic Needs of Customers.
