My boss has been known to say," employees
are a gift to be stewarded, not an asset to be managed." There
is so much truth in that statement. The talent we select to be part of
our team brings unique abilities, perspectives, ideas, thinking and insights.
If we are to maximize their contributions to our business, then we have
to steward not just the competencies of the team member, but also their
interests and their dreams. In our business, we hire many team members
that are on their way to something else. For some, it is their very first
job. For a few others, they may be pursuing an opportunity to operate their own restaurant. However,
like the NCAA athletics commercial says, many will go pro at something
else. To be a good steward of the talent entrusted to us, we need to
know what the endgame is for our employees.
Haley has a dream. She wants to save enough money
to pay her way through college and become a chemical engineer. She has
worked since she was 15, earn the scholarship that her company offers and is on
her way to be the first college graduate in her family. Juan has dreams
to own his own business, maybe like the restaurant where he is a team leader,
or perhaps another opportunity. He spends as much time with his leader as
possible to learn the ins and outs of entrepreneurship. Calvin is retired
from his first career, but enjoys extra spending money, especially when he goes
to read to underprivileged kids on Sunday afternoons. He enjoys being
able to offer them a candy bar or a soda. Bonita is saving money to buy her
first car. Roderick enjoys his job as a training coordinator and loves to
see his team members excel at new skills. He finds pleasure in seeing
them succeed. Sandy works to earn extra money to provide needed therapy
for her special needs child and she takes special joy in helping guests who
need some assistance, too. Her dream is to provide the opportunity to
mainstream her son at school.
While most people show up to work to earn a
paycheck, all employees have options about where they earn it. We have
the opportunity to engage their hearts by fostering their dreams. As a steward
of the talent entrusted to his, we receive 100% of our team member's efforts
when they know we care about their dreams and desires. We receive their
extra efforts when we help them achieve them. When their hearts are
engaged in their work, our guests reap the benefits.
To foster the dreams of our employees, we must know and understand what
the dream is and be willing to encourage the accomplishment of it. Do you
know what each of your employees aspires to be and do? Are you willing to
coach and encourage their dreams? If so, then you are on your way to
being a steward of the gifts entrusted to you in the talent that has chosen to
work for you. The man who fostered my dreams was known for often quoting
a popular phrase: "If you help enough people get enough of what
they want, you will eventually get what you want." It worked out
well for my boss. I think it is a principle that works for all of us.
Let's do a little dream work with our teams today.
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