If you look throughout any organization you will find employees who serve as everyday heroes who exemplify the commitment and enthusiasm that defines the ideal. These employees put forth an abundance of effort in carrying out their daily tasks, demonstrate resilience in the face of adversity, persistence in the face of great odds and a determination to live the values they hold most dear. They are ordinary people doing great things in the business environment but often these individuals and their deeds go unnoticed. They are the unsung heroes. Quite honestly, this oversight is a failure of leadership. Leaders simply fail to grasp what is right in front of them. Leaders with busy schedules, frantic lives and an overall hectic existence walk past greatness every day because it appears so ordinary. So what can leaders do to avoid the tendency to overlook the heroic deeds and accomplishments that occur every day within our organizations? Two actions will set the course...
Rethink your definition of greatness. When most people think of greatness they think of epic heroes known for achieving unheralded success, accomplishing great feats or those that have garnered renowned reputations. The everyday heroes found in our organizations may not be great in the eyes of the world but they are giants in the eyes of those that rely on them and those whose lives they have touched. Heroes take many forms. The employee that takes the initiative to deliver a spare part to customer late Friday evening is a hero in the eyes of that customer. The team member who volunteers to cover three weekend shifts in a row so that a colleague with a dying mother can spend time where it is most important is a hero to a grateful daughter. Greatness is about being extraordinary in ordinary situations.
Recognize personal biases that prevent you from seeing greatness. The word “bias,” with its origins in the French language, originally meant: “slant.” Therefore, it’s easy to understand how bias has come to mean a partiality that prevents objective consideration of a person, an issue or situation. How we process information is slanted by presumptions that influence our view. In other words, we are biased in our interpretations of people and their capacity for greatness. People often perceive what they want to see or expect; they look for and believe the information that supports their opinion while rejecting what conflicts with it. The best leaders practice self awareness and challenge themselves to avoid jumping to conclusions, generalizing based on past experiences, and other forms of selective perception that skew the reality. Margot Fraser, founder Birkenstock, USA is an outstanding example of not letting biases prevent her from leveraging her greatness to achieve not only business success but the creation of a movement that promotes health and wellness.
Everything any organization needs to be extraordinarily successful already resides within its workforce – it’s a matter of uncovering the “ordinary greatness” that is found in employees who are fully committed to the organization. Our employees are a storehouse of passion, energy, skills and ideas just waiting to be tapped. By recognizing and reinforcing their greatness, you help bring their unrealized potential to the surface and, in doing so, drive extraordinary business results.
To discover your own propensity for recognizing, appreciating, celebrating and promoting ordinary greatness take this How You View the World assessment.
Pam Bilbrey is an organizational consultant, executive coach, speaker and author. Throughout her career she has received national recognition for her professional achievements and thought leadership. She has authored three books and more than 50 articles on employee engagement, leadership and team development and organizational change. Pam’s passion is helping individuals and organizations discover their greatness.
