On Work

Some people reading this blog may think that goal setting and SMART goals are only for corporations and technical jobs.  I don't think about it that way at all.  All work is rewarding, all jobs have value, all people should be appreciated for their contribution, and motivated to feel good about their contribution.

Martin Luther King, Jr.  is quoted as saying:

"No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."

and

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

This is the belief system I subscribe to.  So, no matter what the people you lead do for work, your job as a leader is to make certain they see the dignity and importance of the work they are doing, and then inspire them to do their very best.

As I had shared in an earlier post, it was easy to stay inspired working in Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S), the very work of protecting people and the environment is a calling that lit up my soul and my passion.  But on the way to being an EH&S professional, I was a waitress, a cashier in a drug store, a Burger King employee, a fitting room attendant, a stock clerk and a cashier in at Lerner's, a payroll clerk, an accounts payable clerk, a cost accountant and a capital accountant.  Not as easy to see the inspiration in all those jobs.  What kind of SMART goal can a waitress have?  What inspiration can a leader provide?

Again, it all goes back to the objective of the organization.  I'm going to stick with the waitress as my example.  Why do people go to a restaurant to eat?  Maybe it is a special occasion, or maybe they are traveling.  Maybe they have a sick family member and the restaurant is close to the hospital, or the family has gone to eat after a funeral or memorial service.  Whether the occasion is happy or sad, food offers comfort.  So, for the waiters and waitresses I lead, the objective for my organization is to provide our guests with the most courteous, comfortable and pleasant experience possible, in a timely and efficient, but not rushed atmosphere (unless the patron asks us to speed it up).

So, my SMART goals might look like this:

Greet all customers with a smile and an offer to get drinks within 2 minutes of being seated at one of my tables.

Fill all customer orders with 100% accuracy, delivering orders to the kitchen within 2 minutes of leaving each table, and picking up completed orders within 2 minutes of being notified by the kitchen that orders are complete.

You can see where this is going, and I'm sure can fill in the rest.

Next, as the leader comes your responsibility to inspire.  Workers in any service industry have a unique opportunity.  They have the opportunity to make the world a better place, one smile, one kind word at a time.  That in an of itself, is inspirational.  You as a leader can add self-determination to the inspiration by giving your employees some latitude on "give-aways" to the customers.  Giving wait staff the flexibility to give a free dessert to a small child with great manners, a free second glass of chocolate milk to the child that spilled theirs, extra bread to the family that is sharing entrees, obviously to save money.  With the tangible ability to "make it better" coupled with the belief that their job is to uplift and improve the customer's day, inspiration is achieved.

Now all you have to do as a leader is make sure you set the stage for success.  Staff so that the employee goals can be met, or acknowledge those instances where your decisions have gotten in the way of your employee's success.  The best leaders take responsibility for their employee's happiness on the job by setting clear expectations, providing adequate resources, providing timely and targeted feedback on performance, and always showing gratitude for the unique contribution each employee makes.